-0^ 



V «> * * » 



• « o » V^ O 







. V^?^\/ %'^'%^' \^^\/ - 






o-^ 






V;*o«oo'V^ V*"^-'*/ "V^^'V^"^ V* 









°o 









U 



















/ v'^-^'/ %^^\/ %^-'y 









K-^ 



. O <f> " O w O -(J) 

%^ !^ ^^^53^^^^ . O V . j 









PIONEER IRISH OF 
ONONDAGA 

(ABOUT 1 776-1 847) 



BY 

THERESA BANNAN, M.D. 



G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

NEW YORK AND LONDON 

XL be Iknicfterbocher press 

19H 






Copyright, rgii 

BY 

THERESA BANNAN 



¥ 



,fv 



Ube ftnfcfeerbocliec ipress, t\ew JSocft 

©CI.A295986 
/U.I 



^0 

s^ ANASTASIA, 

daughter of 
Michael and Anastasia Cormac Nolan, 

BORN OCT. 31, 1834 

AT AGHNAMEADLE, 

PARISH OF TOOMYVARA, 

COUNTY TIPPERARY 

AND 

' EDWARD, 

SON OF 

Michael and Mary Kinnally Bannan, 

BORN MAY 7, 1830 

AT COLLEGE HILL, 

PARISH OF TEMPLEMORE, 

COUNTY TIPPERARY 



PREFACE 

THE story of the Pioneer Irish of Onondaga was 
begtin at the request of Dr. John Van 
Duyn for the Onondaga Historical Association, 
to be one of a series of records of the different 
nations who settled within the County. 

Any addition to the early history is most de- 
sirable, for in the scanty records of former days, 
the share of any one nation is scant indeed. 
The notes that refer to those of Irish birth or de- 
scent have been collected to become part of this 
record. The usual guide has been the name. 
The many names shared by the Irish and those 
of other nationalities are generally excluded, but 
if, occasionally, one is erroneously claimed, it is 
outnumbered by the many loyal Irish excluded be- 
cause they bear names that are not characteristic. 

Often good old surnames are found with 
singular Christian names in the children of an 
Irishman and his wife of another nation. 
In corresponding marriages, the history of Irish 
mothers is nearly always lost. 

Many names lack proper classification because 
of errors in spelling, entailing double work in re- 
search. Again in many records the Irish ancestry 
is ignored. Some names, though associated with 



VI 



Preface 



other nations, are borne by native Irishmen who 
disclaim alien blood. 

The original part of these notes was collected 
through interviews with early settlers or their 
descendants. Rarely have family records been 
available. Only a few of the great number who 
came to Onondaga in its first half-century are 
here represented. To record the history of 
these Irish Pioneers has been the motive of this 
work. 

The arrangement of the material is approxi- 
mately chronologic in that portion of the work 
that is devoted to Salina. In the case of the other 
eighteen towns of the County, where the popula- 
tion before 1847 was small, where nearly all the 
records before 1830 are lost, the extracts from 
the bibliography are transcribed without system. 
Further original research in these towns seemed 
profitless. Syracuse was second to Salina in 
importance until 1848. 

The story of Onondaga's Irish in the American 
Revolution and other historical data have been 
used with a hope of arousing further interest in 
the historic wealth of this County. 

The narratives and anecdotes interspersed sum 
up certain racial experiences during the social 
development of Onondaga. 

The general conditions under which the pio- 
neers lived, phases of which are revealed in the 
life stories of the individuals considered in this 
volume, were varied and made possible a re- 



Preface 



Vll 



presentative development of Irish character and 
temperament. 

The labor of collecting the material for this 
record has been made more easy by the kindness 
of the families interviewed. For other encour- 
agement and assistance, acknowledgment is here 
made; and this acknowledgment is extended as 
freely to those who warned and sought to deter. 
For sustained interest, critical attention, and 
ready support in the production of this work dur- 
ing the past four years, thanks are due Daniel 
L. Doherty, T. Frank Dolan, and Edward Ryan. 



CONTENTS 






PAGE 


Introduction 


I 


CHAPTER 




I. — Salina 


6 


II. — Syracuse 


72 


III. — Onondaga . . . . 


. 167 


IV. — Geddes 


. 205 


V. — Dewitt . . . . • 


. fl07 


VI. — Lysander . . . . 


. Q2e 


VII. — Spafford . . . . 


qqS 


VIII. — Skaneateles . 


. 231 


IX. — Marcellus 


• 237 


X. — Lafayette 


• 247 


XI. — Camillus . . . 


. 251 


XII. — Elbridge .... 


. 253 


Xlir.— Otisco .... 


. 255 


XIV.— TULLY .... 


. 258 


XV. — Pompey .... 


. 260 



X Contents 




CHAPTER 


PAGE 


XVI.— Fabius .... 


. 265 


XVII.— Clay .... 


. 267 


XVIII.— Cicero .... 


. 271 


XIX. — Manlius 


. 272 


XX. — Van Buren . 


. 278 


XXI. — Scotch-Irish . 


. 285 


XXII.— Yarns .... 


. 288 


Index ..... 


. 301 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

{i)''Baldwinsville Gazette, newspaper, Semi-centennial Sou- 
venir Edition, Baldwinsville. Onondaga County, N. Y., 1896. 

(2) Beauchamp, The Rev. William M., S. T. D., Past and 
Present of Syracuse and Onondaga County from Prehistoric Times 
to the Beginning of IQ08. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 
New York and Chicago, 1908. 

(3) Bruce, Dwight H. (Editor), Onondaga's Centennial, 
Gleanings of a Century. The Boston History Company, 1896. 

(4) Chase, Franklin H., Onondaga's Soldiers of the 
Revolution; Official Records Compiled. Published by the Onon- 
daga Historical Association, Syracuse, N. Y., 1895. Pamphlet. 

(5) Cheney, Timothy C, Reminiscences of Syracuse. 
Published first in the Syracuse Daily Standard, and later com- 
piled by Parish B. Johnson. Moses Summers and William 
Summers, Publishers, 1857. Pamphlet. 

(6) Clark, Joshua V. H., A. M., Onondaga; or Remi- 
niscences of Earlier and Later Times; being a Series of Historical 
Sketches Relative to Onondaga; with Notes on the Several 
Towns in the County, and Oswego. Syracuse, N. Y., 1849. 

(7) Clayton, W. W., History of Onondaga County, New 
York. Syracuse, 1878. 

(8) Collins, George K., Spafford Mortuary Records, with 
Genealogical Notes. Manuscript, 1900. Syracuse Public 
Library. — Spafford, Onondaga County, New York. Manu- 
script, 1902. Syracuse Public Library. 

(9) Haltigan, James, The Irish in the American Revolution 
and Their Early Influence in the Colonies. Patrick J. Haltigan, 
Publisher, Washington, D. C, 1908. 

(10) Hand, M. C, From a Forest to a City; Personal Remi- 
niscences of Syracuse, New York. Syracuse, 1889. 

(11) Hewitt, William P. H. (Editov) , History of the Diocese 
of Syracuse, Established 1886; with an Introduction by the Rt. 
Rev. Mgr. James S. M. Lynch, S.T.D., M.R.; Stories of the 



xii Bibliography- 

Parishes, 1615-1909. Catholic Sun Press, Syracuse, N. Y., 
1909. 

(12) Joyce, P. W., LL.D., A Concise History of Ireland. 
Longmans, Green & Co., New York, 1903. 

(13) Leslie, Edmund Norman, Skaneateles; History of Its 
Earliest Settlement and Reminiscences of Later Times. Press of 
Andrew J. Kellogg, New York, 1902. 

(14) Mac Geoghegan, The Abb6, The History of Ireland, 
Ancient and Modern. Taken from the Most Authentic Records 
and Dedicated to the Irish Brigade. Translated from the 
French by Patrick O'Kelly, Esq. New York, 1848. 

(15) Parsons, Israel, M.D., The Centennial History of the 
Town of Marcellus. Delivered in the Presbyterian Church of 
Marcellus, Onondaga County, N. Y., July 4, 1876. Pamphlet. 
1878. 

(16) Reunion of the Sons and Daughters of the Old Town of 
Pompey, Held at Pompey Hill, June 2g, 1871; . . . also, A His- 
tory of the Town, Reminiscences and Biographical Sketches of Its 
Early Inhabitants. Publication Committee. Pompey, 1875. 

(17) Scisco, Louis Dow, Early History of the Town of Van 
Buren, Onondaga County, New York. Baldwinsville, New York, 
1895. Pamphlet. 

(18) Smith, Carroll E., LL.D., Pioneer Times in the Onon- 
daga Country. Compiled by Charles Carroll Smith. Syracuse, 
1904. 

(19) Strong, Gurney S., Early Landmarks of Syracuse. 
1894. 

(20) Van Schaack, Henry C, A History of Manlius Village 
in a Course of Lectures Read before the Manlius Literary Asso- 
ciation. Fayetteville, New York, 1873. 



PIONEER IRISH OF ONONDAGA 



INTRODUCTION 

ONONDAGA, where moved the Great Spirit 
in the form of Hiawatha, where kindled the 
council fires of the Five Nations, could not fail to 
attract the attention of the paleface. The Jesuit 
"Relations" show the journeys of the French 
to the territory of Onondaga County. Later the 
English came. In the armies of both nations 
were the Irish, nearly half a million of whom gave 
their blood to France in half a century. A frag- 
ment of the Irish Brigade was at Niagara. Other 
Irishmen were in military service along the river 
to Quebec and with the English in the valley of 
the Mohawk. Some of these penetrated to the 
land of the Onondagas during the military opera- 
tions. Among the first Irishmen to visit Onon- 
daga were the Revolutionary soldiers. Their 
history has been written. Some of them came 
back here and estabhshed their homes. 

In the partition of the military lands the Irish 
soldiers drew many lots but little of all the tract 
was occupied by the original owners. Specula- 
tors bought up claims, and litigation was long and 
stormy. Lots were relinquished by the dis- 
coiiraged or the reckless for mere trifles. 

In the meantime, before the organization of 



Pioneer Irish of Onondao^a 



&' 



the County, the Irish were boihng salt in Salina 
and clearing land in every township. They saw 
the birth of the County, fostered its infancy, and 
have enjoyed its full development. 

The Irish Pioneers came to Onondaga from 
various parts of the Union. They came directly 
from Ireland. They came from Canada and 
other countries to which they had previously 
emigrated. 

They came for the same reasons which have 
always influenced mankind to a change of habita- 
tion — the desire of new things, the love of ad- 
venture, the pain of shattered hopes, the loss of 
possessions, the need of political and religious 
freedom, the search of opportunity for labor and 
wealth. In addition they were drawn to the land 
which had won independence from their own old 
enemy. 

In Onondaga they found the Indian in the wil- 
derness. There were the hardships of pioneer life 
where swamps sent forth pestilence and death to 
alternate with winter's storm and rigor. There 
was the unrest of a new government, the law- 
lessness of a new community. Their neighbors 
like themselves were provincial in the extreme. 
The mingling of nations was a strange experience, 
arousing mutual hostility, mistrust, and prejudice. 
Difference in temperament, in religion, in social 
customs increased the discord. 

Nevertheless they found contentment. They 
had their share of Nature's bounty, and op- 



Introduction 3 

portunity to woo her favor. The land they 
cleared became their own, the virgin soil gave 
abundant harvest. They had freedom, which 
their race had helped to gain; for of those who 
came to America the Irish, most of all, were 
politically free. They repudiated allegiance to 
the government under which they had lived, by 
which they had been oppressed. They burned 
their bridges behind them. They stood or fell 
by their own acts, for there was no national consul 
to whom they could appeal with hope founded on 
past experience. They were ready to be part of 
the new order of things. Their innate love of 
liberty, cherished in defeat, flamed full in the 
Revolution. 

To Onondaga the Irish brought their manv 
virtues and their few vices. They brought the 
Catholic faith and morals, which they had ever 
kept as their greatest treasure, which they still 
keep to the despair of their rivals. They cele- 
brated the Christian holidays and gradually 
leavened Puritanism. By a happy combination 
of temperament and religion they were armed 
against the insolence of their neighbors; for 
whereas the neighbors looked upon them and 
their religious exercises with hostility and con- 
tempt, the Irish in turn prayed for them as for 
benighted heathen. 

The graver crimes were unknown among these 
pioneers of Onondaga — murder, blackmail, de- 
generacy, lust. Women and children, the un- 



4 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

protected and the weak, were safe even in the 
rudest times. 

They brought the sanguine temperament, the 
loyalty, the courage, the gayety, the humor and 
warmth of their race. They brought health — 
splendid health — and strength for their pioneer 
labors. Their blood was pure, their vigor unim- 
paired by toil in the kindly climate of their native 
land. They came as parents with their young, or 
as youths to build for the future. They gave to 
the County its greatest wealth — children, God's 
hostages. 

Their vices were nearly virtues. Their lawless- 
ness was picturesque. It had the effect of law 
upon its objects. Their county quarrels were 
simply exaggerated patriotism. Their appeal to 
fists was a primitive virtue. Their share in the 
contests of the rival gangs of early days was nor- 
mal in men of superabundant energy, with local 
pride, fraternal loyalty, and the inborn love of 
combat. There are few Irish mollycoddles. 

The splendid strength of these pioneers was 
exerted in every field of activity. The forests 
bowed to their swinging blows, the noisome 
swamps became fruitful gardens under their 
hands. Hills were levelled and roads made 
smooth by their strong arms. They dug the 
canals which opened the County to commerce. 
They manned the boats freighted with the salt 
they themselves had boiled. The living rock 
sprang from its bed to be fashioned for their 



Introduction 5 

dwellings. The stream left its channel to grind 
their corn. They entertained the traveller in 
their taverns at the crossroads. They taught 
school and administered justice. In village and 
city and State and Union they represented the 
wish of the community, voiced the opinion of the 
majority. 

The Pioneer Irish of Onondaga were more con- 
tent to work than to record. It is a kindred pen 
which here unites the scattered fragments of 
their story. 



SALINA 

THERE are pages in the history of Onondaga for 
those who would read of the Indian's Hfe in 
the forest, of the war-whoop of hostile tribes, of 
the peace pipe of the paleface. There are tales of 
romance and adventure, of the retreat of the 
wild creatures of the woods, of buried treasure, 
of fire and sword. From Onondaga to Quebec is 
a trail alive with interest ; so, too, from Brewerton 
to the valley of the Mohawk. 

The claim of Sir William Johnson to Onondaga 
Lake and the Salt Springs gives him a place among 
the Irish Pioneers. A native of Ireland, a British 
officer, he shared the councils of the Five Nations 
at Onondaga. General John Sullivan and Gen- 
eral James Clinton directed military operations 
within the limits of Onondaga, while Colonel Van 
Schaick's expedition to the County brought 
IMajor Robert Cochran and Captain Thomas 
Machin. In these detachments of the Revolu- 
tionary army were other soldiers of Irish blood, 
some of whom were among the few pioneers of 
Onondaga. 

Salt Point, or Salina, where the salt springs 

6 



Salina 7 

known to the Jesuits led to the great industry 
of salt manufacture, must ever be the centre 
of historic interest in Onondaga. J. V. H. Clark 
describes the country and incidentally intro- 
duces a few Irish Pioneers. He says:^ 

The country about Onondaga Lake up to the year 
1800 during the summer season was extremely un- 
healthy. Fevers began to appear early in July and 
cases followed each other in such quick succession 
that oftentimes there were scarce well persons enough 
to minister to the necessities of the sick, and it seemed 
as if man and beast were alike afflicted with the same 
dread scourge. Numbers of the inhabitants perished 
during the sickly season. 

Patrick Riley 

In 1793, there were but thirty persons at Salt Point 
all told, and nearly every one was sick at one time, 
except a man named Patrick Riley, a generous- 
hearted fellow who carried on Mr. Van Vleck's salt 
works. He drew his own wood for salt-block, boiled 
salt every day and half the nights, and every alternate 
night watched with the sick, for a period of two 
months, without a single night of intermission.^ 

It does not require much imagination to call up 
the figure of this brave and tender-hearted Irish- 
man. It is not unreasonable to assume that in 
the small colony of thirty people at Salt Point 
there were other Irishmen, his friends and fellow- 

' Clark, vol. ii., p. 141. 
'Ibid. 



8 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

workmen, whom the deadly disease had laid low. 
Patrick Riley in charge of the salt works was in a 
position to befriend his countrymen who came 
into the wilderness to find employment. 

John O'Blennis 
Kate O'Blennis (Born Van Vleck) 

Clark says^: "John O'Blennis made salt at 
Green Point in 1794," and in the preface, he says: 

The names of Mrs. O'Blennis, of Salina, and Mrs. 
Wood, of Onondaga Hollow, should not be omitted, 
both of whom have resided in the county from its 
earliest settlement, and whose vigorous minds are 
stored with an almost unlimited stock of valuable 
information. 

Mrs. O'Blennis, a daughter of Mr. Isaac Van 
Vleck, had an Indian name, Jo-an-te-no.^ 

There is no record of the courtship of the Irish- 
man and the daughter of the Dutch pioneer but 
the name of Kate O'Blennis was a household 
word for half a century or longer in Salina and 
the surrounding country. She was the mother of 
an only child, a son, but she was the friend of all 
mothers in their hour of need. The wife of an 
Irishman and the adopted daughter of the In- 
dians, she attended the birth of hundreds of both 
these and other races in the capacity of doctor 
and nurse. She is still a vivid picture in the minds 

' Clark, vol. ii., p. 148. 'Ibid., p. 143. 



Salina 9 

of those who in their childhood held their breath 
while she majestically passed. She was called 
Aunt Kate. 

Kate was very high tempered, shrewd, and 
bright, says Mr. Jefferson Leach. She was a 
member of the old Presbyterian church. It was 
customary to toll the bell when a member died, 
but Kate O'Blennis was the last to whom that 
tribute was given. 

Christopher Colles 

The construction of the Erie Canal, which led 
to the foundation of Syracuse and the develop- 
ment of Onondaga County, was for many years 
the subject of thought and labor of an Irish- 
man. Clark thus gives credit saying': 

It was a matter that began seriously to attract and 
engross the attention of sagacious, enlarged, and 
liberal minds from 1784 to 1800. Christopher Colles, 
a native of Ireland who settled in New York before the 
Revolution, was probably the first man who started 
suggestions with respect to canals and inland improve- 
ments in Western New York. DeWitt Clinton him- 
self declares this fact, saying: "He was an ingenious 
mathematician and mechanician. His memorials to 
the Legislature were presented in 1784-85, and met 
with a favorable report, although some thought his 
scheme visionary. The Legislature appropriated one 
hundred and twenty-five dollars to enable him to pro- 
secute his examination of the Mohawk River." He 

' Clark, vol. ii., p. 51. 



10 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

again appeared before the Legislature and the public 
with a proposition to form an association to improve 
the inland navigation between Oswego and Albany. 
Although these propositions were sensible and well 
founded, yet no public action crowned his efforts. 
He published a pamphlet in 1785, entitled "Proposals 
for the speedy settlement of the frontier of Western 
New York, by which the internal trade will be in- 
creased, the country will be settled and the frontier 
secured." As an earnest of what was contemplated, 
the Legislature of the State of New York passed an 
act, etc. 

The agitation and work produced by Christo- 
pher CoUes resulted in the construction of the 
Erie Canal. 

, DeWitt Clinton 

Haltigan gives this family history*: 

Charles Clinton was born in County Longford, 
Ireland, 1690. His wife was Elizabeth Denniston, 
an intelligent and accomplished Irishwoman. These 
were the founders of the Clinton family in America. 
They had four sons: Alexander, physician; Charles, 
physician; James, Major- General; and George, first 
Governor of State of New York for twenty-one years. 
James, son of Charles and Elizabeth Clinton, married 
Mary DeWitt of Holland ancestry. They had four 
sons: Alexander, Charles, and George, all distin- 
guished lawyers, and DeWitt, Governor of the State 
of New York and projector of the Erie Canal. 

The Erie Canal developed Onondaga. 

• The Irish in the American Revolution. 



Salina ii 

William Connor 

According to Clarke* 

The first school kept at Liverpool was by a man 
named Connor, in his salt works, and the scholars 
were taught while he carried on the business of mak- 
ing salt. His school was then considered the best 
in the county, and was denominated "the high 
school," and was patronized by the inhabitants of 
Salina and Onondaga Hollow. 

Chase writes^: 

In the records of the Revolutionary soldiers of the 
town of Salina is the name William Connor, who when 
an act of Congress established a pension, appeared in 
court according to law: 

William Connor appeared in court in 1820 and 
said he was sixty-two years old; that he enlisted in 
the spring of 1775 in the regiment of Colonel Van 
Cortlandt and joined the army at Valley Forge. 
He was in the battle of Monmouth and was dis- 
charged in Ulster County about February i, 1779. 
Except his clothing his entire property consisted of a 
pair of spectacles which he valued at fifty cents, and 
a tobacco box of like value. At that time he was very 
much disabled by age and infirmities. 

The old school-teacher and salt boiler was the 
Revolutionary soldier. A. H. Crawford wrote and 
published in the East Syracuse News a series of 
articles on "Old Days in Liverpool. " He received 

' Clark, vol. ii., p. 148. ' F. H. Chase. 



12 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

much of his information from Kesiah Folgar Lee, 
then an old lady, who in her youth had gone to 
school in the salt works of the old soldier Connor. 
An extract from a letter to the Syracuse Weekly 
Journal, Sept. ii, 1869, from the Hon. Alvin 
Bronson: "My wife was born at Salt Point in 
1797, the daughter of Captain O'Connor, a 
Revolutionary soldier, who settled at Oswego 
but was obliged to retreat to Salt Point in the 
winter to escape famine." 

Thomas McCarthy 

A young Irishman with dark hair and white 
skin set out from Salt Point to follow the blazed 
trail to Brewerton. Everything was strange to 
him for he had just come into the wilderness to 
make his home and now he was on the way to meet 
his mother. At a cabin in a clearing he asked for 
a drink of water and was given milk and the 
friendly gaze of a woman. Wondering at the fair 
skin of the stranger, which contrasted so strongly 
with that of the Indian and the bronzed pioneer, 
she asked him if the sun ever shone in the land he 
came from. He probably answered with courtesy 
and wit as became an Irishman and from that 
hour Thomas McCarthy has held his place in the 
history of the County. 

His mother was at Brewerton with his step- 
father, Edmund McSweeny. They had come 
first to Brooklyn and then to Brewerton. 

Thomas was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth 



Salina 13 

Stack McCarthy and when a boy about fourteen, 
according to the custom of the country, he was 
bound out until he was twenty-one. He went 
to Dublin and there learned the draper's trade, 
which he and his descendants exercised for more 
than a century in this County. Under the condi- 
tions of apprenticeship in Dublin, the apprentice 
entered the family of his employer and worked in 
the latter's shop, for which privileges the appren- 
tice's father paid the employer a certain number of 
pounds sterling a year. Whether it was the father 
or step-father of Thomas who paid the fees, the 
term of apprenticeship had not expired when his 
mother came to America. When at last he was 
free he invested his savings in merchandise and 
with his brother John came to join his mother. 
John settled in Canada and Thomas at Salt 
Point, where he opened a small store and also 
began the manufacture of salt. The store has 
been represented as a log cabin but there were no 
log cabins at Salt Point at any time. It was a 
small frame house and when the business of the 
general store had increased, was replaced by a 
two-story building. His salt industry was at 
first limited to two salt kettles, and while he at- 
tended to the store, he hired men to boil his salt. 
In time he had fifty kettles and every one knows to 
what great proportions the little store grew. 

Thomas McCarthy came when the County was 
young and grew into its life and history with the 
other men of other races who came and left their 



14 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

mark on the County's character. He was a 
valuable acquisition to the colony. Young and 
vigorous, well educated and thoroughly well 
trained by his long apprenticeship in the business 
life of a beautiful city, with an inheritance of 
Celtic humor and Catholic piety, he held within 
his hands the guiding lines of the pioneer life. 
Twice a year he journeyed to New York to buy 
goods, stopping at Utica to visit the Devereaux, 
reaching Albany by any conveyance possible, and 
navigating the river by boat or raft or craft of any 
sort, returning with his stock, which must answer 
the needs of six months. Sometimes his goods 
were exchanged for labor or wood for his salt 
works or for his home. A general store must 
have seen many strange exchanges where money 
was scarce, in the wilderness. 

But Thomas McCarthy grew rich and influ- 
ential socially and politically. He led the move- 
ment for the first Catholic church in the County 
and saw it completed, for he knew and felt the 
need. Priests were few and had widely scattered 
missions and rarely came here. Catholic men 
were without the spiritual ministrations of their 
priests for years at a time so that many joined 
their neighbors in different churches and gradu- 
ally lost their ancient faith. The marriage cere- 
mony, often for a marriage with a non-Catholic, 
was performed by a Justice of Peace and the other 
sacraments of the Church languished in the barren 
soil of disuse. Thomas McCarthy met the priests 



Salina 15 

on his travels to New York, but years passed be- 
fore his legal marriage received the benediction 
of the Church and his children its baptism. 

His home brought together all those of his 
faith. When a priest penetrated to this old 
mission of the Jesuits, word was sent far and 
wide and those who wished came to their minister, 
tramping long distances through the forests, often 
deep in snow. Many remained over night to at- 
tend Mass in the morning and to carry back with 
them the spiritual store for perhaps many years. 
It was like, in some respects, the stations of 
their native land when for a time a farmhouse be- 
came a chapel and the neighbors attended the re- 
ligious exercises and then indulged in feasts and 
games. As the avenues of travel became more 
open, the population increased and the spiritual 
needs of the people were more easily supplied. 
The noble untiring bishops of those days came to 
Salina to their people. The table or bureau was 
transformed into an altar in the McCarthy home 
and when Percy, the wife and mother, was too ill 
to leave her bed, Mass was celebrated within her 
view. Children were baptized, marriages blessed, 
instructions given, all in the short space of time 
the busy priests could give as they passed on to 
other fields. 

On one of the trips to New York Thomas Mc- 
Carthy met James Lynch at the home of the 
Devereaux in Utica, and persuaded him to try 
his fortune at Salina. So the two men became 



i6 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

firm friends and followed the same line of business^ 
dividing their part of the patronage of the colony 
and sharing in the recorded history of the Coiinty. 
With other Catholics they founded St. John the 
Baptist Church, receiving subscriptions in Utica, 
Albany, and New York. Both reared large fami- 
lies, which have branched out into many States of 
the Union. Both hold a permanent place in the 
memory of posterity. 

Extract from a newspaper clipping : 

Thomas McCarthy died in St. Augustine, Florida, 
January 30, 1848, in the 626. year of his age. This was 
briefly announced in our paper of Tuesday. In 
1812 he was among the first to march to the northern 
frontier to defend his adopted country against an in- 
vading British army. 

He was one of the originators of the Bank of Sa- 
lina. He was a worthy and highly esteemed citizen, 
respected for his industry and strict integrity. 

He left for Florida Nov. 226. for his health, suffer- 
ing from some bronchial trouble. He was taken ill at 
dinner and died in a short time. 

Thomas McCarthy had two half-sisters, Jo- 
anna McSweeny who married Kane, and her 
sister. The daughter of Joanna married Francis 
Connelly. 

It is said that while Thomas McCarthy was in 
Florida, a letter was sent to him from Syracuse 
offering him the nomination of mayor, the first, of 
the new city. The letter arrived there after his 
death. 



Salina 17 

Percy Soule formed the acquaintance of Thomas 
McCarthy while she was visiting her sister, 
Mrs. Stewart, in Syracuse. Mrs. Stewart was 
the mother of Captain WilHam Stewart of the 
packet-boat and afterwards of the Syracuse 
House. Percy Soule came from Wilberham, 
Massachusetts, and traced her ancestry back to 
the Mayflower. 

Percy McCarthy was a gentle wife, a kind 
hostess, and the idol of her children. Long periods 
of illness only increased the gentleness of her na- 
ture and the love of her family and friends. Her 
daughter Mary took upon herself the many cares 
of a large household, directed and counselled by 
the gentle, invalid mother. The religious life 
of the family centred at her bed and the formal 
ceremonies of the Church were within view from 
her pillow. Bishop DuBois of New York came 
there to perform the marriage ceremony of her 
daughter Eliza and Colonel Silas Titus. With 
him was a young priest who was destined to be a 
cardinal. Father M'Closkey. He baptized the 
youngest child, Agnes McCarthy, and the records 
of these two ceremonies are said to be the first 
Catholic records in this County; for, when the 
Bishop asked for the records, there were none, 
and he started them. 

Thomas McCarthy's first wife was Percy Soule 
of Wilberham, Massachusetts. Their children 
are: Dennis, who married Millicent Carter; 
Robert, who married Eliza Pierce, Boston; Eliza, 



i8 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

who married Col. Silas Titus; three who died 
young; Mary, who married Matthew Murphy, 
Utica; William, who married Mary E. Kearney, 
Rochester; Ellen, who married Richard Eliot, 
Detroit; Sarah, who married Daniel Bryan, 
Utica; Agnes, who married William Lalor, Utica; 
John, who married Elizabeth Toole, Syracuse. 

Thomas McCarthy's second wife was Mrs. 
Anna Cronly Toole, the widow of Thomas Toole, 
Jr., of New York, and her daughter Elizabeth 
married his son John the next year. 

Dennis McCarthy, son of the Salina pioneer 
merchant, Thomas McCarthy, was bom in Salina 
March 19, 18 14, and after his education joined 
his father in the drygoods business. 

Upon the father's death he was joined in 
business by his brother John. Later Dennis 
McCarthy bought out his brother's interest and 
continued in the business, which was developed 
from a small beginning until its sales amounted to 
two million dollars annually. He possessed keen 
discernment in business affairs, was at all times 
reliable and trustworthy, and carried forward 
to successful completion whatever he undertook. 
He became recognized as one of the prominent 
leaders of the Republican party in New York. 

His opportunities for education were not great 
but he attended Yates Polytechnic Institute at 
Chittenango and also the Academy at Onondaga. 
In business acumen, force of character, and politi- 
cal sagacity, he continued the spirit of his father. 



Salina 19 

the pioneer merchant of Salina. His sphere of 
activity was greater and he played his part with 
supreme success. He won by his energy and 
pluck, by his tenacity and grit. He won not only 
his own battles but those of his race and creed. 
He won from his very enemies their dearest pos- 
sessions and he died in the harness. Here is the 
scene : 

A crowded hall with a debate on a public 
measure and Dennis McCarthy the advocate on 
the popular side, but with a chosen hostile audi- 
ence. He is interrrupted by jeers and hisses and 
howls, but he holds his place and advances his 
arguments. Soon the crowd calls for his opponent 
but McCarthy makes himself heard: "I am not 
the man to be howled down nor hissed down, and 
my opponent cannot speak until I have finished." 
The crowd is won by the plea for fair play and 
the speaker finishes his last public duty. 

Dennis McCarthy like his father led the St. 
Patrick's Day celebration. He too bore many 
of the petty persecutions of his neighbors. The 
spirit of intolerance was rife with its brood of con- 
stant discord, mutual distrust, and fierce passions. 
Dennis McCarthy challenged the ringleaders to a 
public debate on religion. He won and so broke 
the spirit of intolerance that it has since remained 
hidden from the light of day. 

Dennis McCarthy married Millicent Carter, 
daughter of David K. Carter, one of the first 
settlers in Rochester. Their children were Mary 



20 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

B., who married James Sedgwick; David K. ; 
Thomas; Percy, who married Thomas Emory; 
Kate; Dennis, Jr., and three infants who died. 
He died Feb. 14, 1886. Neither his mother nor 
his wife was of his faith though both became con- 
verts to it. In the whirl of poHtical and business 
life, Dennis McCarthy lost some of his religious 
fervor in his later years, yet remained loyal to the 
faith of his fathers until he passed to join them. 

John McCarthy was born in Salina in 1822. 
He was the son of the pioneer Thomas McCarthy 
and Percy Soule McCarthy. Educated in the 
district schools, Onondaga Academy, and George- 
town College, he entered upon his business career 
in his father's store in Salina, remaining there as 
clerk until after the death of his father, when he 
became a partner of his brother Dennis in the 
ownership and control of the business. 

John McCarthy married Elizabeth Toole, who 
was born April 9, 1829, the daughter of Thomas 
and Anna Cronly Toole. 

Elizabeth Toole McCarthy is still young at 
heart and gay. Her brown eyes have looked upon 
the sun for over eighty years and are still un- 
dimmed. She has borne the burden of twelve 
sons and daughters and is still unbowed by care. 
Her blood runs warm in her veins, true blue. 

She was born in New York City and grew 
up in an atmosphere of Irish patriotism. To her 
home came the exiles to discuss their common fate, 
to hope and to plan and likewise to execrate the 



Salina 21 

author of their sorrows. For her mother's father 
had drawn his sword for Irish hberty in the re- 
bellion of 1798 and had escaped in an American 
vessel to America with Thomas Addis Emmet, 
Dr. McNevin, Mr. Caldwell, and others. Cald- 
well lived many years in New York and told the 
child Elizabeth how he had been taken prisoner 
and sentenced to death. He was in an upper 
room and had seen through a crack in the floor the 
official signature put to his death-warrant. For 
some reason the sentence was changed to exile 
and he lived with his friends and compatriots under 
the Stars and Stripes. 

When Thomas McCarthy made his semi-annual 
trips to New York, he naturally sought the com- 
panionship of his countrymen and shared their 
interests. There in time he took for his second 
wife Anna Cronly Toole, the widowed daughter of 
the Irish patriot, and returned with her and her 
young daughter Elizabeth to Salina. Within 
a year Elizabeth became the wife of her step- 
father's son. 

Thomas Toole, Sr., had come from Dublin and 
with Mr. Caldwell and others had formed the 
Irish Immigrant Society. He was a cousin of 
General Richard Montgomery. 

Elizabeth was organist in St. John the Baptist 
Church for many years and John McCarthy sang 
in the choir. John had studied in Canada and 
was a good French scholar. 

John McCarthy had his part in the business 



22 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

life of the County and his large share of the public 
esteem, to which his character, solid worth, and 
high ideals entitled him. Gentle and retiring in 
his nature, yet of strong will and perseverance 
and industry, literary in his tastes, a public speaker 
of merit and force, he preferred the domestic to 
the public life and was ever kindly in his greet- 
ing as he passed, a venerable figiu-e, through the 
streets of the city he had helped to found. 

The children of John and Elizabeth Toole Mc- 
Carthy are: Thomas I., who married Elizabeth 
Cayon, Baltimore; Anna, who married John J. 
Town, Utica; John C, who married Zollie Bustin, 
Camden, Miss.; Percy, whose first husband was 
Theodore Dissel and whose second Peter A. 
Roche; Ellen E., who married Seymour Bier- 
hardt, Syracuse; Edward A., who married Nellie 
Collins, Brooklyn; Genevieve, who married Ed- 
ward Kanaley, Syracuse; Grace L., who married 
Fred Smith, Syracuse; Mary A., who married 
Clarence Ellis, Cortland; Sallie, and two who 
died in infancy. 

Robert McCarthy was the son of Thomas and 
Percy Soule McCarthy of Salina. He married 
Eliza Jane, daughter of Parker H. and Hanna 
Withington Pierce of Boston, Mass., whom he met 
while she was here visiting Millicent Carter, wife 
of Dennis McCarthy. 

Their children are: Robert, Jr.; Eugene, whose 
first wife was Esther Yates and whose second Mary 
R. O'Hara; Frederic, who died young; Anna 



Salina 23 

Eliza, who married Charies Holland Holt of New 
York; Jennie Marie, who married Frederic De 
Noyers Peltier of New York. They have one 
child, Paul. 

Robert McCarthy was on the State Board of 
Charities for seventeen years. 

The children of William and Agnes McCarthy 
Lai or are: Wilhelmina, who married James F. 
Barrett, New York; Agnes, who married Dr. 
William Cahill, Syracuse; Katharine, who mar- 
ried Joseph Hogan, Brooklyn; Elizabeth, who 
married James Johnson, Chicago; William, in 
Chicago; Mary and Genevieve, teachers in Cali- 
fornia; Josephine and Percy, trained nurses in 
New York. 

William Lalor was the son of William and Cath- 
arine Mahony Lalor of Grennan, County Cork, 
Ireland. His mother was first cousin of Rev. 
Francis Mahony, "Father Prout," the author of 
Shandon Bells and other poems. His brothers 
were Timothy, Dennis, Richard. His sister, 
Mary Ann, married Daniel Mitchell and wrote and 
translated many things under the name Mary 
Lalor Mitchell. The Lalor family lived in Utica ; 
they came from Ireland in 1853. Agnes Mc- 
Carthy Lalor remembers having seen a paper 
signed by ten or fifteen people petitioning for a 
priest for Salina. She remembered only the one 
name odd (to her) in the list, Hausenfrats. Miss 
Mary Elizabeth Murphy, granddaughter of 
Thomas McCarthy, also saw the paper and re- 



24 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

membered the odd name, Jacob Hausenfrats. 
She said many of the signers made only their 
mark and there were about fifteen in all. 

Agnes McCarthy was educated at Mt. St. 
Vincent Convent, where Central Park now is. 
Mary Cooney was also a student there. 

Mr. Jefferson Leach, president of the Bank of 
Salina in days gone by, said that John McCarthy 
was a man of sterling worth and unwavering in- 
tegrity. Mr. Leach also spoke in the highest 
terms of Miss Elizabeth Toole. He said she was 
a ray of sunshine, the life of the house, merry, 
sprightly, talented. She played the piano with 
masterly skill, sang the good old songs, danced 
with gayety, and spread happiness around her. 
He recalled a recent visit he made her on the 
occasion of her 77th birthday when her friends 
gathered around as she sang again the songs of 
old. Her skill at the piano remained, and her 
birthday party reproduced the festive days of her 
youth. 

Patrick Cooney 

Patrick Cooney and his wife Bridget Coney 
Cooney came to America from County Wexford 
about 1816. They bore the same name with a 
slight difference in the spelling but were not re- 
lated imtil their marriage. Patrick was nineteen 
and his wife somewhat older when they married 
and after a few years they set out to better their 
fortunes, leaving their oldest boy Patrick, two 



Salina 25 

years of age, in the care of relatives. They came 
first to Utica and worked there for the O' Neils, 
then Patrick came on to Syracuse to work on the 
Erie Canal contract. Here he met many Irish- 
men, among them Thomas Doyle, who worked 
with him. The men were for the most part 
young, unmarried men who did their work and 
passed on to other places. Thomas Doyle and 
Patrick Cooney remained. There were no Ger- 
mans or workmen of nationalities other than Irish 
and American. Michael Cooney and his wife 
Bridget Sennit came later to Salina. 

When the work on the Canal was done Patrick 
Cooney went to Salina and began to boil salt. 
Fortiine smiled on him and he was soon able to 
buy a salt-block and a house. He bought wooded 
land and chopped down the trees to bum in the 
salt works and so cleared the land for a farm, which 
is still known as the Oak Orchard farm. Men 
spent the summer in boiling salt and the winter in 
chopping wood. They were boarded by their 
employers, whose wives did the cooking, or were 
boarded elsewhere at the expense of the employers. 

As business increased Patrick Cooney depended 
on hired men to carry on his work. Some boiled 
salt, others packed it, and some travelled to sell 
it. He had an accident, breaking his leg, which 
left him lame. His home was in the house built 
by Thaddeus Wood and Samuel Matthews at the 
corner of Turtle and Salina Streets and here came 
Dr. James Foran to render his services. He was 



26 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

a learned, high-tempered physician and had a 
difficult case to treat in this fracture. 

It is natural that one should seek one's acquaint- 
ances in a strange land and each pioneer of Onon- 
daga gained a foothold not only for himself but 
for all those of his town or county in the old 
country who wished to hazard the fortunes of the 
new. Those were good old days of hospitality 
and the simple life. Many came to the Cooney 
home, conveniently situated near the Canal, the 
great highway. Some looked over the ground and 
not liking the salt industr3'' passed on to the west 
or north. Some remained and made their homes 
in Salina or other parts of the County. Among 
those were the Oliphants, who located in Geddes. 
Their experience with a peddler harbored for the 
night, who feared he would be killed in his sleep 
by his Catholic hosts, showed the temper of the 
times. 

Many others found their first familiar face at 
the Cooney home after a long voyage from their 
native land. This house eventually passed to 
Daniel O'Brien in part payment for the construc- 
tion of St. John's School and gave place to the 
dwelling of his brother William, now Assistant 
Chief of Police. 

Patrick Cooney, like all the other Irish who 
came to this County in its first half -century, met 
persecution. He was one of the early known ar- 
rivals, all of whom were unwelcome because the 
others already in the salt industry did not want 



Salina 27 

competition. They often banded together to 
waylay an Irishman and subject him to treat- 
ment which they hoped would force him to leave. 
They wore masks and chose the night time for 
their attacks. The Irish were in the minority but 
when they became sufficiently numerous they 
were not slow to retaliate. The Irish are not op- 
pressive. Their sympathies are generally with the 
weaker, because they have suffered too much 
themselves not to share in the sorrows of others. 
At Salt Point they worked with many who had 
this advantage, that they had come from some 
other part of America. The pioneers of New 
England had sterling qualities. They had, too, 
complementary vices, not the least of which were 
narrowness of mind, greed, intolerance. They 
antagonized every one but themselves and some- 
times even themselves. When after the Revolu- 
tion they set out for the frontier of the West, they 
passed through the Dutch settlements of the Hud- 
son and Mohawk, provoking to wrath even the 
placid Dutch. They would have dispossessed 
them had they been able, but the Dutch soon 
learned to give them free passage and even to 
assist them to hasten their journey westward. 
These New England travellers and their descend- 
ants by their right of might harassed the immi- 
grant Irish in Onondaga, as their forefathers, the 
Old Englanders, did in Ireland and tried to do in 
America. But in Onondaga the contest was more 
equal. It was man to man. The Irish soon 



28 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

profited by the tactics of their enemies and banded 
together, and when the need arose, descended 
upon some nest of persecutors and gave them 
their punishment. 

Patrick Cooney gave his children every oppor- 
tunity possible to obtain an education. The 
boys went to Holy Cross College, at Worces- 
ter, to the seminary at Cazenovia, and to the 
Syracuse High School. His daughter Mary was 
educated at the Mount St. Vincent Convent, New 
York, on the site of Central Park. Agnes Mc- 
Carthy, daughter of Thomas, was a student there 
at the same time. 

The course of study was foiir years, and in addi- 
tion to the regular school work, the yoimg ladies 
became most skilful with the needle. Repro- 
ductions of famous paintings were so well done 
with the needle and thread that they appeared as 
if painted. Embroidery and lace work formed 
part of the course. 

Kate O' Biennis told Patrick Cooney that he 
would become a rich man. Her prophecy was 
fulfilled and Kate O'Blennis's shrewdness again 
confirmed. 

Among the staunch supporters of St. John the 
Baptist Church were Daniel Keefe (Father of 
John C), William Butler, John Shannon, William 
Dunn, Thomas Doyle, Patrick Cooney, Patrick 
Ford, James Slattery, Dennis Devoy, Thomas 
McCarthy, and James Lynch. 

Patrick Cooney also sold wood. 



Salina 29 

Father Duffy bought from the Cooney estate 
the homestead for a parish school. 

Patrick and Bridget Coney Cooney had eight 
children: Patrick, Jr., Nicholas, John, Jeremiah, 
Martin, who went to California in 1870, two who 
died young, and Mary. 

Patrick Cooney, Jr., married Ellen Command. 
Their children are: Patrick D., who married Rose 
Carberry; Daniel; Jerry, who married Emma 
Lang; and James. 

Mary married John McKeever. Their children 
are: Nicholas, Charles, John Seymour, Arthur, 
Margaret, Francis, Ellen, and four who died 
yoimg. 

Patrick Cooney' s second wife was Catharine 
Command. Her sister married Michael, son of 
John Lynch. 

Thomas Doyle 

Thomas Doyle came to this County about the 
year 181 5. He went to Salina but later worked 
in digging the Canal through Syracuse, after 
which he returned to the manufacture of salt. 

He married Jane McFarland, daughter of 
William, and their children are: Garrett; Thomas; 
Mary, who married John McCann, and had one 
child, Blanche; Catharine, who married Michael 
Murray, and had one child, Thomas Murray; 
John, who married Belle Crowell, and had three 
children, Thomas, Garrett, and Mary; and two 
children who died young. 



30 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

James Doyle was a brother of Thomas Doyle. 
Thomas Doyle was bom in Ballyknock, Parish of 
Ballymitty, County Wexford. His father was 
Garrett and his mother Catharine Neville Doyle. 
He was one of seven children and was the magnet 
that drew many of that coimty to Salina. 

All the old settlers knew Thomas Doyle and 
speak in the highest terms of his character, in- 
dustry, and shrewdness. He accumulated a 
fortune by hard and constant work and saving. 
He was close-fisted and somewhat eccentric in 
manner and dress, caring little for his personal 
appearance. His one indulgence and pet vanity 
was a certain make of clay pipe with the initials 
T. D. for the trademark, which also served for his 
own name. 

Thomas Doyle gave many a young man the op- 
portunity to make a start in the world. Daniel 
O'Brien earned from him not only his first wages 
but owed to him his escape from an early and 
tragic death. For when a lad six or seven years 
old, he andhis brother William, four years younger, 
while pushing an old wheelbarrow along the tow- 
path of the Canal and not looking ahead, ran 
full tilt into a barrel of salt and Daniel went into 
the Canal. William howled and Doyle, some dis- 
tance away, saw only one boy where a moment 
before were two and shouted to his son Thomas, 
nearby in the salt-block. Thomas appeared at 
once and grasping the situation from his father's 
gesture jumped into the Canal and saved the boy 



Salina 31 

who has done much for Syracuse and for his 
country. 

Thomas Doyle boiled salt, packed it, and de- 
livered it by canal-boat. Like all other boats his 
had a fighting crew and when necessary the crew 
tied up the boat and went ashore to fight. 

Patrick Cooney and Thomas Doyle were types 
of the Irishmen who lived and flourished in Salina 
from the earliest days of the County to the decline 
of the salt industry. There must have been many 
others there during these early times besides the 
McCarthy, Cooney, and Doyle families. Some 
left only a name. The salt works were kept up 
night and day and helpers were needed. There 
must have been many other Irish when an Irish- 
man could be elected trustee of the village in its 
first year and president in the second. 

Garrett, the father of Thomas, was a wealthy 
farmer in the county of Wexford. When a new 
road was opened through that county he built a 
tavern at the cross-roads near his farm and con- 
ducted it for years. Of his means he lent his 
friends and thereby came Thomas Doyle to this 
country. Garrett had lent a friend money to 
come to America and in time received a letter 
saying the money would be paid if he would send 
a messenger for it to Rome, N. Y. The oldest 
son, John, seemed the proper messenger, but his 
mother would not part with her first bom, so 
Thomas was selected to come. Whether he met 
the debtor and received the money is not known, 



32 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

but he did not return home, having had enough of 
the sea in one trip. He went to work on the Erie 
Canal and so came to Syracuse and Salt Point. 
Soon he sent for a younger brother, James, and 
these were the only two members of his family 
who left Ireland. 

The Wexford folk were familiar with war and 
the Boys of Wexford were valiant warriors. Each 
county has certain characteristics more or less 
marked and often receives a n'ckname more 
or less humorous. The people of Wexford are 
called the "yellow bellies," and the word "yel- 
low" has in our time acquired a meaning quite 
distinct from color. The Wexfords received their 
name from a part of their uniform — a small 
yellow apron. 

The Doyle children dated their ages from the 
Rebellion (1798). One was four years, another 
two, and Thomas was three months old at the 
time of the Rebellion. They recall the fireside 
tales — the battle won and the victors confidently 
in repose when the reinforced enemy returns 
across the bridge that should have been burnt. 
And so the tragedies of the race are kept alive and 
the spirit of liberty. 

Besides Thomas and James Doyle there were 
members of many other Wexford families in this 
Coimty,^ — Lacy, Clancy, Thomas O'Neil, Ennis, and 
Murphy. 

Later on some of the children of John Doyle 
and of his sister Catharine came to America. 



Salina 33 

Catharine's daughter Mary married John Mc- 
Dermott, and they have one child, Catharine. 

Thomas Doyle and James Murphy may have 
been friends in Ireland, and James Doyle and 
James Murphy may have come to Salt Point 
together. 

The two families were always friends, and 
Thomas Doyle and his brother James gave neigh- 
borly assistance to the Murphy family when they 
were arranging their possessions in the new home 
in Salina. 

Katharine Mara married Thomas Dineen, 
was first cousin, sisters' children, of Michael 
Murray and lived in his family from childhood. 
She was the daughter of William and Margaret 
Comerford Mara. Her son is William Dineen, 
the famous base-ball pitcher. 

Extract from the Syracuse Evening Herald: 

Catharine Miuray died Feb. 6, 1906. She was one 
of the wealthiest women in Syracuse, possessing up- 
wards of $200,000 in salt lands and salt covers and 
property in the First and Second wards which she 
inherited from her father, Thomas Doyle, and her 
husband, Michael Murray. Since the death of the 
latter about thirty years ago she has managed her 
extensive business with the help of her son, Thomas. 
Her summer home was at Green Point and for many 
years she travelled for the benefit of her health and 
maintained a cottage in the woods. 

James Murphy 

James Murphy had seven sisters and was the 



34 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

oldest of the family. When he came to America, 
in 1822, his mother mourned and would not be 
comforted until her husband came to Green Point 
to coax him home. But James coaxed too and 
persuaded his father to return to Ireland and bring 
over his mother and sisters. This he did and all 
were reunited. James during this period had 
been working in salt-boiling and had also bought a 
small farm at Green Point to be the home of his 
family in the wilds of Onondaga. On this farm 
was the famous Jesuit well, but it was known for 
the succeeding half a century as Mrs. Murphy's 
well. For the Jesuits and their labors were not 
the subject of discussion during those days. 
The salt boilers and pioneer farmers did not have 
much leisure for historical research. They were 
busy making history and clearing the land to be 
fruitful, and fighting malaria and other evils. 
They knew Mrs. Murphy's well late in the de- 
cade beginning with 1 820 and for many years after. 
Now the well, or the ground where it was, is the 
property of the Onondaga Historical Associa- 
tion. One man says the Jesuit well was salt 
water, another says it was fresh water, and that 
he had drunk it often, another says it had been 
fresh water but its sources had been permeated by 
salt water from leaking pipes. But Mrs. Murphy's 
grandchildren know their grandmother would 
not drink nor give to drink water that was salty, 
that the water was of course fresh and constantly 
used. 



Salina 35 

Thomas Murphy 

Thomas Murphy and his wife, Mary Farrell 
Murphy, came to Green Point, in 1826, from 
County Wexford. 

They came to join their son James who had 
arrived in 1822, and who continued to urge them 
to come, telhng them of the country and its pros- 
pects, of the salt industry and the Httle plot of 
land he had bought. His mother was ready to 
brave the dangers of the voyage to be with her only 
son and had already sent his father to Green Point 
to induce him to return. Thomas Murphy could 
not withstand the entreaties of his wife and so he 
moved his family from Ireland to Green Point, 
since James refused to return home. There were 
seven daughters no less anxious for their mother's 
peace of mind and they sailed the deep for three 
months. 

The Murphys had many friends in the neigh- 
borhood of their new home. There were the 
families of Cooney, Doyle, Jackman, O'Neill, 
McFarland, and Anderson from their own county, 
or nearby, or related in some social way. 

The children of Thomas and Mary Farrell 
Murphy are: James, who married Mrs. Hoag, a 
widow, and who had two children, James and 
Margaret, who live in Buffalo; Ann, who married 
Alexander Anderson, and who bore Richard, 
Thomas, Joseph, and several others ; Margaret, who 
married Thomas Fitzgerald, and had one son, 



36 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Thomas; Mary, who married Thomas Kendrick; 
Ellen, who married Alonzo West, and after his 
death in the Patriot's War, John Rowland, and 
who had one daughter; Antoinette, who married 
Patrick Bulger of Buffalo, and bore Thomas, 
James, Andrew, Patrick William, and Mary; 
Catharine, who married William Dunn, and had 
these children: Margaret, Thomas, Mary, Ellen, 
Agnes, William, Catharine, and Anna; Bridget, 
who married Peter McGraw of Lockport, and bore 
Peter, John, William, Daniel, Matilda, and Ellen. 

William Dunn 
Catharine Murphy Dunn 

Catharine Murphy married William, son of 
Edward and Margaret Kelly Dunn. William was 
born in 1811 at Castle Comer, County Kilkenny, 
Ireland. He came alone to America by way of 
Quebec and then to Oswego. He walked from 
Oswego to Green Point and spent the first night 
in Salina at the home of Christopher Hand. Later 
his brothers Patrick and Edward came. He en- 
gaged in the salt business and continued in it for 
years. He reared his children in comfort, giving 
them the advantages of a good education. Few 
men acquire the distinction of having five daugh- 
ters trained to teach in the public schools of their 
own and other cities. 

When William Dunn and Catharine Murphy 
married they built their home in Free Street and 



Salina 37 

lived there until the house was burned in the fire 
that swept Salina in 1856. They then bought a 
house of Frederick Morrell at the corner of Bear 
and First North Streets, Catharine Murphy Dunn 
spending fifty-two years of her mortal life there 
and in 1908 completing there her allotted time of 
eighty-five years. 

The children of William and Catharine Murphy 
Dunn are: Margaret, who married Thomas 
Farmer, son of Patrick and Bridget Farmer, and 
had two children, William B., and Dr. Thomas P. 
Farmer; Mary, who married Patrick Grace, son 
of John and Ann Grace, and had five children, 
William D., Charles, George, Mary, and Catha- 
rine; Thomas, who married Katharine Lawton, 
daughter of John and Catharine Lawton, and who 
had one child, Katharine, who became a nun; 
Ellen, who married Matthew Chryst and had 
six children, Mary Stella, Henrietta, Edwin, 
who died in the Philippines, William, Matthew, and 
Robert D. ; Agnes, who married Richard Wilkin- 
son; Catharine, who is Principal of Grant School, 
and also a teacher in the Shelter ; Anna, who mar- 
ried Hugh McSloy of St. Catharines, Ontario. 

James Lynch 

James Lynch was the son of Cornelius and Jo- 
anna Dooling Lynch of Tralee, County Kerry, 
Ireland. Originally from the city of Dublin, 
Cornelius Lynch married and settled among the 



38 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

relatives of his wife in Kerry. Their sons, James 
and John, both came to Onondaga County. 
James had obtained a clerkship in Cork with rela- 
tives engaged in shipping dairy products to Eng- 
land. Some good fortune brought him a similar 
office in the United States Navy during the War of 
1812, and he came to America. During his ser- 
vice he met many men from the city of New York 
among whom were two brothers named Little 
serving in the navy. These young men invited 
Lynch to their home and there he fell in love with 
their sister Eliza, then sixteen years of age. 
She was of Knickerbocker stock, her mother a 
daughter of the Von Miillers. Small and curly- 
headed, vivacious yet haughty, she surrendered 
to the tall, handsome, bold Irishman whom her 
brothers called their friend. James Lynch was 
a gentleman of distinguished bearing, exquisite 
taste in dress, and of polished manners, upright 
in character and of sterling worth. His little 
bride forsook for him the gay life of New York, 
and came up into the wilderness to Utica, where 
the Devereaux family, true to their reputation of 
hospitality, made them welcome. There in the 
course of time James Lynch and Thomas Mc- 
Carthy of Salt Point met. Lynch with his wife 
and children came to Salina in the year 1824, 
opened a store, and engaged in the salt industry. 
McCarthy and Lynch worked together for many 
years, in business, in politics, and in religion. 
They were both in the movement which led to 



c 



Salina 39 

the establishment of the first CathoHc church in 
this County. Both were eminently successful in 
business, accumulating a fortune. Socially they 
were in the foremost rank and exercised a hos- 
pitality of which this generation knows not the 
mode. Both held office and took part in every 
work of good citizens and won for themselves a 
place in the history of their time. 

Eliza Little Lynch brought with her to the 
settlement at Salina the charm and grace of the 
metropolis and is still remembered for her dainty 
loveliness. The first piano of this region was 
hers, and the salt boilers often gathered round her 
gate to beg the favor of her musical art. Her 
home rivalled the McCarthy home in its recep- 
tion of distinguished guests. It became a chapel 
at need and the piano served for an altar. So was 
laid in Onondaga County the foundation of the 
Lynch family, which grew and spread into all the 
avenues of work and life. 

The children of James and Eliza Little Lynch 
are: Mary, who married Edward Murray of 
Pompey ; Lucy, who married John White of Bing- 
hamton; Michael, who married Helen Barry of 
Oswego; John O'Sullivan, who married Eleanor 
Denman, Ohio; George, who went to California; 
James, Captain 149th N. Y. Vol. Inf. ; Thomas, un- 
married; Louise, who married Charles Pender- 
gast, a ship owner of Baltimore, and Adelaide, 
who married James Pendergast of Baltimore, a 
ship owner and a brother of Charles. 



40 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

James Lynch, the third, son of James Lynch 

and grandson of James L^aich, served in the war 

with Spain. 

John Lynch 

John Lynch, son of Cornehus and Joanna Dool- 
ing Lynch, of County Kerry, Ireland, came to 
Sahna in 1833, where his brother James had been 
estabUshed since 1824. John had married Mary, 
the daughter of Dennis Scanlon of County Kerry, 
and they had brought with them from Ireland their 
eight children. One child was born on board ship 
and the youngest was born after they had taken 
up their residence on a farm in Dewitt. There 
were nine sons and one daughter besides an infant 
daughter who died. Of these Daniel, bom 1828, 
is living in Syracuse (1908). Some of the children 
spent their lives on the farm while others entered 
actively into the life of the city as merchants, 
bankers, philanthropists. Their generosity to 
the orphans was constant and timely. 

The children of John and Mary Scanlon Lynch 
are: Cornelius, Joanna, James, John, Jr., Michael, 
Patrick, Daniel, Edward, Dennis, Andrew Jackson. 

Cornelius Lynch married Kate Duggan. Jo- 
anna Lynch married Daniel McCarthy, the only 
one of his family who came to America. They 
had these children: Timothy, who died in the 
Civil War, at Atlanta; Jeremiah, who died at 
Lookout Mountain; Catherine, who married 
Patrick Cooney; and Mary. 



Salina 41 

James Lynch married, first, Margaret Farrell, 
and they had one child, John. He married, later, 
Mary Donohue, and their children are: Kath- 
arine, Edward, Cornelius, Sarah, James, George, 
Mary, and Margaret. James Lynch married 
three times. 

John Lynch, Jr., was unmarried. 

Michael Lynch married Bridget Command 
(Cummings) and their children are: John, Mary, 
Daniel, Cornelius, Ellen, Sarah, Edward, Andrew, 
and Josephine. Michael Lynch's second wife was 
Penfield Slattery. 

Patrick Lynch married, first, Sarah Stratton 
and their only child, Mary, married P. H. Pender- 
gast. The children of this marriage are Nicholas, 
Sarah, Edward and Andrew J. L. Pender gast. 
Patrick Lynch married, second, Cynthia Frisbee 
Van Loon, a widow, whose daughter Louise Van 
Loon married Andrew, the youngest brother of 
Patrick Lynch. 

Daniel Lynch married Ann Ready, daughter of 
William and Ann Kennedy Ready of County 
Kilkenny. Their children are: Mary, who 
married J. W. Pendergast; Andrew J., who mar- 
ried Anna Mahony; Catherine Ann Adelaide, who 
married George J. Zett; and Louise Elizabeth 
Lynch. 

Edward Lynch entered Fordham Seminary and 
was ordained a priest by Archbishop Hughes in 
1855. His mission was in Yonkers. He died 
when he was thirty-two years old. 



42 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Dennis Lynch was born on shipboard while his 
parents were coming to America. His wife, 
Kate Quigley, is said to have been the first white 
child bom in Iowa. Their children are: Ed- 
ward, Andrew, and Mary Louise, a nun. 

Andrew Jackson Lynch was bom in Dewitt. 
He married M. Louise Van Loon and their chil- 
dren are: Major Charles P. Lynch, M.D., of 
Washington, D. C, and John G. Lynch. 

Daniel Lynch 

Daniel Lynch lived with his parents on the farm 
in Dewitt. He helped his brothers in clearing the 
land and when nineteen years old bought for him- 
self fifty acres in Cicero. He sold that and bought 
1 20 acres near the toll-gate in the town of Salina. 
About 1888 he went to Syracuse, and entered the 
salt business with salt-blocks and vats, and 
though eighty years of age is still engaged in it. 

Among the early settlers of whom he frequently 
heard were Dominick Boyle, Roger Murph}'-, 
Thomas Doyle, Patrick Jackman, Thomas Fagan, 
David Fagan, and John Fitzgerald, the Leslies, 
the Cooneys, the McCarth^^s, Christopher Hand, 
John Hand, Thomas Hand, Owen Mackin, John 
Mackin, Christopher Buckley, the Leydens, Pat- 
rick MoUoy, John McCann, and William McCann. 

William McCann 
For more than eighty years William McCann 



Salina 43 

lived in Salina in close touch with the life and de- 
velopment of the place and well qualified to note 
what he saw. His neighbors regarded him as a 
treasury of information on the events of early 
days, as a trustworthy witness of the past and 
one whose testimony was unimpeachable, Mi- 
chael Maloney and his daughter Lucy took the 
writer to visit William McCann, November 17, 
1907, for the express purpose of obtaining his 
story of bygone days. 

William was the son of William and Ann Mc- 
Guire McCann of Shee-Bog, which is between 
Inniskillen and Clunis on McGuire's Bridge in 
County Fermanagh, Ireland. They were farmers 
and may also have been weavers of hnen. They 
came to Albany sometime after 1820. Their son 
William was born there in 1824, and four years 
later, 1828, came to Salina on a canal-boat. There 
were two other sons, James and John. William 
went to the district school of Salina, which stood in 
Washington Park, and took his part in the fun 
and work of those early days. 

At that time and for twenty years thereafter 
it was all woodland from the Oswego Canal to 
Bear Trap Creek. The woods were full of game of 
all kinds, and the Indians were peaceable neigh- 
bors in the settlements they made while hunting, 
trapping, and fishing. Pigeons were very numer- 
ous and in the springtime clouds of wild geese 
rose from cover. 

William McCann boiled salt and chopped wood 



44 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

— the two main occupations of that region. He 
then worked on the State scow and held various 
positions of trust. For years he was foreman 
for Dennison & Belden, contractors, and he was 
foreman for Henry Gale, also a contractor. He 
was superintendent of the construction of the 
Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg, Northern Di- 
vision, as far as Richland; also of the N. Y. C. 
freight road around the city. He served in the 
same capacity at the Deruyter Reservoir and was 
canal collector of tolls, boat inspector, and harbor 
master. 

He married Martha, the daughter of John and 
Olivia Haight Dana of Manlius. Their children 
are Olivia, Agnes, James, and Ella. 

William McCann knew many of the early 
Irish settlers and their descendants and recalled 
their names. There were John and Michael 
Leyden, Thomas and James Doyle, John and 
David Leslie and their parents, Thomas McCarthy 
and his mother, Mrs. McSweeney, Patrick Cooney, 
Patrick Jackman from Coimty Wexford, Catharine 
Murphy Dunn, who was about his own age and 
whom he knew for eighty years, Peter O'Neill, 
Welch, Christopher Hand, Michael Yore, 
John Davin of Liverpool, McFarlands, Ander- 
sons, David and Peter Fagan, and Patrick, their 
father, David Fagan, a policeman, Owen and John 
Mackin, who like the Fagans had a farm on the 
Buckley Road, named after Christopher Buckley, 
James Stimson and Daniel Keefe, who boiled 



Salina 45 

salt together for several years. Stimson, though 
a Presbyterian, went to the Catholic church with 
the others. He also knew James Coughlin, and his 
wife Ellen, whose tombstone is in the old ceme- 
tery. Recollection of James Coughlin is scant 
but he was a very able man of splendid educa- 
tion and did a great deal of good. His wife Ellen 
came to the old cemetery at times, to visit her 
husband's grave, and would accept a cup of tea 
before she turned homeward. 

Thomas Fitzgerald married Margaret Murphy 
in 1832 and later married Hanna Sullivan, who 
still lives on Free Street with her daughter, Mrs. 
George Cole. 

Michael Cahill and his son John were very well 
known by William McCann. 

Michael Cahill came to Salina about 1833. 
He had been twenty-one years in the British 
service as cavalryman. He took part in the battle 
at Plattsburg in the War of 1812, and was engaged 
in a hand-to-hand conflict with a soldier of the op- 
posing army, when the signal of retreat was given. 
On his discharge from service he received one 
hundred acres of land in Canada, where he lived 
for a time before coming to the United States. In 
after years he met again the man with whom he 
had measured swords in the battle at Plattsburg. 
Of those days Michael Cahill rarely spoke when 
interrogated, but at times when the mood was 
upon him or when some particular friend tact- 
fully led him on, he would take the old sword and 



46 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

put it through its play in brilliant pass and 
sweeping curve. Soon the sword was drawn 
against the government it had served so long. 
It was lost in the Patriots' War when its bearer 
perished, for Michael Cahill gave the sword to one 
of Onondaga's sons who marched to the Canadian 
border. 

Michael Cahill was sexton of the old cemetery, 
and used his spare time in constructing a mauso- 
leum for himself. It is the only one in the ceme- 
tery and received all that was mortal of Michael, 
his wife, and his son John, who served in the Civil 
War. The inscription spells the name as it is 
pronounced, Chaell. An article in The Syracuse 
Sunday Herald, Dec. 6, 1908, includes a picture of 
the tomb and a copy of the inscription : 

Erected to the memory of 

Michael Chaell 

Born in the j^ear 1786 in the 

Parish of Temple Patrick 

County of West Meath, Ireland. 

Died September 20th, 1848. 

Also 

To the memory of 

Bridget, wife of Michael Chaell 

Born in the year 1791 in the 

Parish of Milestone, County of 

Kildare, Ireland. 

Love God above all things and love 

thy neighbor as thyself. 

Michael Cahill's daughter, Caroline, married 



Salina 47 

Edward Day. His son John bequeathed his army 
portfolio to Olivia, the daughter of WilHam Mc- 
Cann. 

Mrs. Kate Van Vleck O' Biennis was a house- 
hold word in Salina. She was a midwife and did 
much work among the Irish as well as among 
other people. 

William McCann was a witness of the historic 
fight at the court-house at the corner of Ash and 
Salina Streets. Michael Maloney said all the old 
men in Salina knew and related the details of the 
battle, but some of the details were so nearly in- 
credible that only the best authority should be 
accepted. He considered William McCann, who 
was present at the court-house, and mixed up in 
the crowd, such an authority. Moreover all 
agreed on the main points. 

Richard Farrell 

Richard Farrell and his wife, Mary, and their 
children came from Mallow, County Cork, about 
1825. Their children are: Jeremiah; Richard, 
who at the age of nine years was waterboy at the 
Welland Canal construction, and who married 
Mary Devoy; Bridget Farrell, who married Pat- 
rick MoUoy; Daniel, and Thomas. 

Soldiers of the Revolution 

Chase writes^: 

There are many incidents of the Revolution re- 
' F. H. Chase. 



48 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

puted to the old town of Salina. Nine soldiers of 
the continental line are known to have been actual 
residents of this town. An interesting anecdote of 
one whom it is difficult to locate has also been related. 
It occurred during Lafayette's visit to Syracuse in 
1825. Under him there had served during the 
Revolution a private named Moore who, from the 
size of his head, had been nicknamed by his soldier 
comrades, "Cabbagehead" Moore. After the Revolu- 
tion he moved to Salina, and upon the visit of Gen- 
eral Lafayette pushed forward to ask: "Do you 
know me, General? " " Know you? " was the answer, 
"how could I ever forget old 'Cabbagehead' ?" . . . 

Another Revolutionary soldier of Salina was 
William Connor. . . . 

Vine Coy at the age of seventy-four in 1840 was a 
pensioner for services in the Revolution. 

Dennis Devoy 

Three young men set out in search of adventure 
from King's County, Ireland, and landed at Que- 
bec, June 23, 1822. After some time two of the 
young men returned home but the third, Dennis 
Devoy, came on to Deerfield near Utica. On 
board ship with them came Thomas Hurst and his 
wife and children, John, Samuel, and George, 
bound for Syracuse. 

Dennis Devoy was born in TuUamore in 1802, 
the son of Dennis Devoy. There was a tradition 
in the family that at some time, a few genera- 
tions had lived in France, but the reason of the 
exile, whether political or religious, is not known. 



Salina 49 

When General Lafayette journeyed on the 
Erie Canal in 1825, the American people had not 
forgotten his services in the Revolution and they 
rushed to greet him and to press his hand and 
hold up their children to receive his kiss. It was 
an event to be treasured in the memory. Among 
the men to clasp his hand at Utica was Dennis 
Devoy. 

In Deerfield, Dennis had engaged in distillery 
and the raising of live-stock. When in 1826 he 
closed the distillery, he drove his stock along the 
highway, selling it as he could, and finally ar- 
rived at Salina where he opened a general store on 
Exchange Street. Like all the merchants in that 
place he engaged in the manufacture of salt. 

There was not much money in circulation and 
some of that was counterfeit. Banks were un- 
reliable. Produce was the medium of exchange. 
Farmers and Indians were among the patrons 
of the merchants. The Indians brought their 
handiwork — handles for all kinds of tools, and 
ladles for use in the salt-works. Fish was abund- 
ant, game also. 

The property which Dennis Devoy bought a 
few years after locating in Salina, consisting of 
two lots, store, and dwelling, cost $4800. Sixty 
years later it sold for three hundred dollars. 

Dennis Devoy married Mary, the daughter of 
Michael McEvoy, who had come to Utica when 
she was four years old, from Queen's County „ 
Their children are: William, Terence, Mary, 



50 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

who married Richard Farrell, Kate, George, Es- 
ther, who married John McGuire, Louise, Martin, 
who married Katharine Ryan, Dennis, John, who 
married Anna McGuire, and Thomas. 

Peter O'Neill 

Peter O'Neill and his wife, Hanna Welch, 
came from the border-line of the counties Armagh 
and Tyrone and landed at Quebec about 1830. 
They came on to Oswego, where Peter spent one 
season packing flour. He had been a weaver of 
linen in his native land. His brother-in-law, 
Harry Welch, was at that time in Salina, and so 
drew Peter and his wife to this County, where 
they entered the salt business. They located at 
Liverpool and are said to be the first of their name 
who came to Onondaga. They soon made a 
place for themselves because of their great physi- 
cal strength when might won right. They had ten 
children, nine boys and one girl, and were loyal 
to each other. They worked together and fought 
for the rights of each and all. They had to fight, 
and they knew the art. Prejudice against their 
race and the general conditions under which all 
pioneers in this County lived, made physical 
combat the court of justice. The O'Neills of 
Liverpool and the McMahons of Caughdenoy 
(Cockanoy) cleared the County by a visit or two 
of its petty tyrants, to whom they administered 
corporal punishment, for there are many who just 
miss decency for the want of a timely physical 



Salina 51 

chastisement. Some of these had fed the minds 
of their children with such tales that an Irish- 
man became a terror and a monster. The child's 
curiosity discovered the lie and found that he was 
only a man, like other men. 

Peter O'Neill and his nine sons worked in every 
detail of the salt industry from boiling to shipping. 
They were all boatmen, owning their horses and 
boats, making money easily and spending it 
freely. On a trip of four or five days, sixteen 
hundred dollars were often the profits. They 
shipped generally to Oswego but also east and to 
New York. From Oswego they returned with 
twenty-five or thirty cords of wood for use in the 
salt-blocks in addition to the regular supply ac- 
cumulated during the winter. At one time there 
were 700 cords of wood piled ready to feed the 
fires of the salt-blocks. The salt boilers were 
makers of salt in summer but hewers of wood 
in winter. The whole family, father, mother, and 
children, and a gang of eighteen or twenty men 
took up their winter quarters in a log house in the 
woods and the picturesque life of the lumber camp 
had its local habitation in Onondaga. The mother 
did all the cooking for the large family, the open 
fire-place, with crane and kettle and blazing logs, 
being the centre of her labors. The rude bunks 
rose one over the other around the walls of the 
room. All worked hard and slept well. 

The O'Neills cut their wood mostly at Caugh- 
denoy, which is called Cockanoy by many of the 



52 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

old settlers. The McMahons' land adjoined theirs 
and the two families became friends. William 
McMahon is described as a perfectly biiilt man 
over six feet in height, beautifully proportioned, 
with great broad shoulders and splendid car- 
riage. His strength was in proportion. His 
brothers, Arthtir, Thomas, Frank, and John, were 
equally well noted for their physique and strength. 

Peter O'Neill had no brothers or sisters as far 
as any one can recall. His son John, who gave 
the facts of this story in an interview at his home, 
December, 1908, does not know his father's 
birthplace, but it was on the border-line between 
Armagh and Tyrone. Mrs. Emeret Crawford of 
Liverpool said that when Peter O'Neill came to 
America in 1830, he left his two oldest children 
in Ireland with his wife's mother, who, a widow, 
had married James McGee. Sometime after the 
O'Neills located in Liverpool James McGee 
brought there his wife and the O'Neill children 
to their parents. McGee was a very well edu- 
cated man and was very kind to his neighbors. 
They went to him with their troubles and he was 
their spiritual adviser in the absence of the 
priest. He conducted the funeral services and 
other prayers when no other minister was avail- 
able. 

Peter O'Neill had his experience with the effigy 
of St. Patrick, hung high over the street on a rope 
between the opposite housetops. On h s way to 
market he did not appear to see the image. A 



Salina 53 

neighbor called his attention to it. Peter looked 
up, then said: "Be jabers, it looks like Martin 
Van Alstine," and passed on. A Dutch St. 
Patrick seemed to the jokers funnier than their 
joke. 

Hanna Welch O'Neill was a faithful helpmate to 
her sturdy husband and the strong mother of 
strong sons. Fearless and daring without, the 
men of the household obeyed the glance or the 
nod of the mother in her home. She was one of 
those splendid women who knew not fatigue. 
If the men of those days were of almost incredible 
strength, the women were also of great vitality 
and power. They were accustomed to physical 
labor and did with ease what a woman of to-day 
would grow weary in even contemplating. 

The children of Peter and Hanna Welch O'Neill 
are : Matthew, who married Miss Graham ; Mary, 
who married Capt. Gavigan of Auburn and whose 
daughter Rose married Patrick Corbett; Francis, 
who married Mary Sitz; Peter, who married Mary 
Jane Brady; John, who married Lucinda Free- 
man; James, who married Lucy Basseter; Cor- 
nelius, who married Ann Dalton; Henry, who 
married Elizabeth Passmore; William, and George. 

Henry O'Neill tells how his father happened to 
locate at Liverpool. Peter O'Neill had come from 
Oswego to Salina, where he lived for a time. 
Not liking it, he decided to return to Oswego. 
He engaged passage with a boatman and started. 
When the boat reached the dock at Liverpool one 



54 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

of the men there named Ingersoll asked O'Neill 
some questions about his destination and business 
and then volimteered the information that they 
did not allow Irishmen in Liverpool. "That 's 
just the place I 'm looking for," said O'Neill and 
immediately had his baggage put ashore and with 
his family took up his residence in that village. 

Church of St. John the Baptist 

Clark writes^: 

In 1829 St. John's Roman Catholic Church in the 
village of Salina was commenced and enclosed by the 
exertions of Thomas McCarthy and James Lynch and 
a few other Roman Catholics and the liberal donations 
of their Protestant fellow-citizens in the villages of 
Salina and Syracuse, and by collections made by said 
McCarthy and Lynch from their friends in Utica, 
Albany, and New York. Rt. Rev. John DuBois was 
then bishop of the diocese of New York, and for the 
two succeeding years the congregation being small was 
visited by clergymen only once a month. Rev. 
Francis O'Donohue, Rev. James O'Donnell, Rev. 
Haes, and Rev. Cummings are the priests (Irish) who 
have had charge there. 

The Appeal to Fists 

A city arose in the swamps and wilderness of 
Onondaga by hard work and equally hard 
fighting. The officers of the law in the early days 
were unwilling and unable to restrain the stal- 

' J. V. H. Clark, vol. ii., p. 145. 



Salina 55 

wart pioneers and either kept away from the 
field of battle or stood on the side lines to cheer on 
the combatants. The methods of fight were with 
nature's weapons, the fists, and when all other 
means fail, these must decide the battle. Man to 
man is the primal and the final test. The art of 
self-defence is under ordinary circumstances here 
in Onondaga confined to professionals and boys. 
The man seeks the law or avails himself of the 
weapons of the mind, or bows his head in submis- 
sion; but when something stirs him to the depths, 
he strikes. Physical combat is the only relief 
to his heaped-up wrath, and physical punish- 
ment is the only kind his enemy will not fail to 
understand. This feeling sweeps over a whole 
country and drives it to war. Blood does not boil 
at the thought of pulling a trigger or lighting a 
fuse. The need is to strike a blow, and a blow is 
struck, if only figuratively. This very figure of 
speech persists because it represents an impulse 
common to all. It is easy to be judicial and even 
scornful of another's quarrel, but not in one's own. 
The fights of the early settlers of Onondaga, 
especially at Salt Point and Syracuse, had causes 
some grave, others trivial. Some were simply for 
exercise — as a vent for superabundant strength. 
Every man not physically disqualified took his 
part in the contests while the need lasted. In 
time, law prevailed among the better men, and as 
at present, public quarrels were conducted by 
rowdies. 



56 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

It is not to be doubted that when the Salt 
Pointers went forth to battle their Irish members 
were well represented and for the time forgot their 
own private disputes for the glory of Salt Point. 
They met and vanquished the Syracuse crowd, and 
found worthy opponents in the men of Liverpool. 
Geddes had its fighting men and nearly every 
settlement its representatives, and a row could be 
furnished on short notice. A man crossed the 
boundary line of his territory and met, perhaps by 
accident, a member of a rival faction, jostled him, 
and precipitated a fight. Each then sent out 
his rallying-cry, and friends nearby sent the cry 
in a widening circle, and all who heard rushed to 
the battle. It might be the Upstreeters and 
Swampers of Liverpool, the Syracuse and Salt 
Pointers, the Syracuse and Garry-Owens of 
Geddes, or the Canallers and Masons of Lodi. 
Sometimes the fight was general, often between 
champions. Fair fight was the rule. A ring 
was formed and judgment passed on the merits. 
Law was there — the contestants as their own lav/- 
yers, the witnesses and the jury giving their votes 
and, if necessary, executing judgment on the 
spot, or postponing it for future trial. A bully 
or a coward learned his limitations then and there. 

Liverpool had many experiences in the early 
days, about the year 1830. It not only had its 
own fighting factions but these factions often 
were forced to combine their champions to repel 
invaders. Time and again noted fighters came 



Salina 57 

there for the purpose of whipping the town, but 
it is not in the memory of man that the Liver- 
pool champions were defeated. Among them 
the mightiest were King Allen, Nate Whiting, 
and George O'Neill. 

The O'Neill family of Liverpool contained ten 
men, the father, Peter, and his nine sons. Peter 
came there in 1830, and his children grew to be 
a powerful element because of their strength. 
They were good fighters and knew how to defend 
themselves and their friends, and because of this 
they and the town had peace. 

Fury Family 

This is an extract from the twenty-first article 
in a series of The Old Days written by Albert H. 
Crawford of Liverpool, and published in an East 
Syracuse newspaper, June 9, 1894. 

Along about seventy-two years ago when the gray- 
haired grandfathers of to-day were babes in arms, 
there lived in a certain place where the sounding sea 
beats upon the shores of Ireland, a family named Fury. 
Whether there were silent letters or diphthongs in 
the name or not is of no consequence any more than 
the name of the county they lived in, so we will spell 
it as pronounced, just plain Fury. Patrick and his 
wife and his eight children were well and prosperous 
and, as they should be, contented. Quite well to do 
was Fury, in fact, for he was the owner of a fine home, 
a flourishing mill in operation, and considerable landed 



58 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

property. Mrs. Lee never knew just how it hap- 
pened, whether it was a tidal wave, or a great storm 
out of the stormy Atlantic that drove the weaves far 
inland, or an inundation from the inland itself, but 
from some source the floods came and beat upon that 
house and it fell, and upon his mill and it was swept 
away. His lands were covered and rendered value- 
less. His family, himself, and some wearing apparel 
and bedding were all that was saved. Mrs. Lee 
says that among their effects were silk dresses and 
quite a quantity of very fine linen bed furnishings that 
bore witness to better days. So it was that the 
Furys gathered all together what was left to them, 
and with home gone and property gone, they also gave 
up their native land, and sailed away from dear old 
Ireland into the new world where with Irish courage 
and Irish hope they would begin life anew. 

The Fury family narrowly escaped shipwreck, too, 
but finally arrived and made their way into the in- 
terior. Either by the way of the great lakes and Os- 
wego river or overland they arrived in time at 
Phoenix where Patrick and the oldest boy found 
work in building the canal. They put up a shanty 
and tried to make themselves as comfortable as pos- 
sible. The oldest girl's name was pronounced Beady. 
The other girls were Ellen, Catharine, and little 
Jane. Patrick was the oldest boy, Richard fifteen 
months younger, while Johnny was in his sixteenth 
year. They were as fine a lot of children, Mrs. Lee 
says, as she ever saw together but baby William was a 
beauty. He was less than a year old, bright and 
active and as handsome as a picture. 

Soon sickness came into the immigrant family 
and one after the other was laid low. They had 



Salina 59 

come to Liverpool meanwhile and Mr. Stigney, the 
poormaster, put them temporarily in the little old red 
schoolhouse on the common. Mrs. Lee's mother, 
Mrs. Forgar, and Mrs. Abbott, Mrs. George Bassett's 
grandmother, for pay and pity were engaged to care 
for them. They were all sick but the oldest boy with 
typhus and ague. The four girls had ague. Beady 
had it every day. Catharine was salivated and lost 
every tooth. Dr. Hubbard was there two or three 
times a day and Mr. Stigney was there at least once 
every day to see all was supplied that was needed. 
Fury died and was buried on the day his oldest boy 
was nineteen years old. The faithful mother gave up 
the struggle just one week later. Catharine was not 
expected to live from one day to another. Seven 
weeks it took for the disease to run its course and she 
began to mend. As soon as they could be moved the 
family was brought in a wagon to Mrs. Forgar's own 
home where she and Mrs. Lee slowly nursed them 
back to life. Mrs. Lee says her heart ached for the 
baby boy. Every time he saw anything that had be- 
longed to his mother he would' cry pitifully for her. 
When Mrs. Forgar got the mother's clothes out on 
the floor to wash, the little fellow struggled out of Mrs. 
Lee's lap and made his way over to the clothes. He 
seized them in his little arms, clasped them to his body, 
and broke into a wailing cry for his mother. They 
had to be taken out of his sight. Sometimes the only 
way Mrs. Lee could quiet him and get him to come to 
her, was to put on a cap and then pass a shawl over 
her shoulders, crossing in front, then passing around, 
and tying at the back in the manner common with old 
country women, which made her look very much like 
the little orphan's mother. 



6o Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

As the children were gradually brought back to 
health and strength Mr. Stigney — a model poormaster 
he must have been, by the way — bought some cloth 
and made a bee to have some clothing made up for 
them. Then he found a place for Richard in a store 
in Baldwinsville, and got John into another store in 
Salina. Patrick, the oldest, was able to shift for 
himself. Beady, the oldest girl, went to live with a 
wealthy farmer in Pompey — a cousin of Mrs. Forgar's, 
where she lived until she was married. Ellen 
secured a place at Mosher's on Onondaga Hill but died 
in less than a year. Mrs. Lee thinks someone from the 
country took Catharine but she does not remember 
what was done with poor little Jane. Their effects 
were sold by the poormaster and applied to liquidate 
the expenses of sickness and death. They had worked 
long enough at Phoenix to buy a cow which they 
brought with them. Mr. Forgar bought the cow for 
twenty dollars. Mrs. Lee bought a kettle, for three 
dollars, that they had brought from the old country, 
and has it yet. 

An Irish family out towards Clay Corners came 
and took the baby. The children were then still at 
Mrs. Forgar's. They hung around the wagon crying 
and sobbing as they kissed the dear little fellow for the 
last time. The baby stretched out his tiny hands 
and cried and struggled to be taken back. It seemed 
as though his heart would break and Mrs. Lee thought 
he would go into spasms. That was indeed the last 
time they ever saw their baby brother, for within three 
weeks the family moved West and the baby was never 
heard of again. Her own baby Harry was a baby then 
and seventy years have sped away since the break- 
ing up and scattering of the unfortunate immigrant 



Salina 6i 

family. Aside from Mr. Case no one but Mrs. Lee 
remembers anything of this family. The last Mrs. 
Lee heard of them was that the oldest boy was going 
to return to Ireland. 

How many times have I thought of the Fury 
family. I recollect going up to the old schoolhouse 
with some one. I saw them lying sick, the father 
dead, the mother walking the floor in great distress, 
wringing her hands and crying, and I remember her 
saying "twenty years ago to-day I was a happy 
bride, nineteen years to-day was a happy mother. 
To-day I am the most miserable of women." She 
did not seem to notice any one.^ 

Sometime previous to the war of 1812 there turned 
up one day at John N. Smith's tavern a real live Irish 
gentleman. When he sailed away from Dublin bay 
it was as a cold corpse in a coffin. He was smuggled 
out of the country by his friends to escape hanging for 
"wearing o' the green," He did not work except 
to help a little in the tavern as a matter of accommo- 
dation, when the clerk was absent. He was very 
tall, well proportioned gentleman, a jovial com- 
panion and clever fellow generally. He used to sing 
"They 're hanging men and women there for wear- 
ing of the green," and other popular Irish songs. 
He received regular remittances from the old country 
but at last died and it was a standing wonder what 
became of the considerable amount of money which 
he was supposed to have. His name was Crawford. ^ 

Clark says: 3 "Liverpool was named by the 

' Quotation from another article by A. H. Crawford. 

'A. H. Crawford. ^ Clark, vol. ii., p. 148. 



62 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

commissioners of the land office. Previous to 
this, it was called Little Ireland." 

The new name must have been given as an 
antidote. The Irish were there in numbers for 
many years and "Little Ireland" is still in the 
memories of those not yet grown old. 

Patrick Maloney 

Patrick Maloney and his wife, Catharine Mc- 
Gee, came from Cloenlee, County Wexford, Ire- 
land, to Salina sometime after 1840. Patrick 
Cooney and Patrick Molloy were friends already 
established in the salt business, and Patrick Ma- 
loney immediately began to boil salt. Men were 
paid by the hundred bushels, sometimes four dol- 
lars for a hundred bushels. During the war some 
men made two hundred dollars or more a month. 

Patrick Maloney and John Shannon bought a 
block of land four hundred feet square from the 
State for $400. Many small canals were dug by 
the salt boilers for shipping salt. In winter they 
went to the woods, generally towards the north, to 
chop wood, receiving fifty cents a cord of four- 
foot wood. 

The children of Patrick and Catharine Maloney 
are: James, Margaret, Michael, and Catharine. 

Michael Maloney like most of the children near 
the salt works began early nailing barrel heads as 
his contribution to the great industry. This he 
did in vacation time, for he attended school 
faithfully. When eighteen years old, he ran his 



Salina 63 

own boat, carrying lumber, grain, coal, and salt. 
For some time he was a bookkeeper in New York, 
earning one hundred dollars a month, but he re- 
turned to Salina and entered the grocery business, 
also the coal, feed, and wood business. He was 
elected school commissioner of the First Ward for 
1 883-1 889, being president of the school board in 
1886-87, the only Irish- American who thus far 
has held that office. 

Six of his children have graduated from the 
Syracuse High School: Lucy, Catharine, John, 
William, Thomas, and Louise. His other chil- 
dren are: James P., Michael, and Margaret. 
Michael Maloney obtained the interview with 
Wm. McCann which is included in these notes. 

William O'Brien 

William O'Brien and his wife, Bridget O'Con- 
nell, came to Salina from Listcarroll, County Lim- 
erick, in 1848. He was a man of great strength 
and splendid physique. One of his pleasures was 
swimming with his boys, Daniel and William, 
one on each shoulder. They became expert in the 
art and thereby once saved their father from 
drowning. The children are: Daniel, who mar- 
ried Maria Gallagher; William, who married 
Margaret Kingsley; Margaret, Sister Annuncia- 
tion; Ellen, Sister Evangelist; Catharine, and 
John. 

Daniel O'Brien and John Hoolihan as con- 
tractors constructed many buildings in Syra- 



64 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

cuse and did much government work. One of 
the most interesting constructions was at Ports- 
mouth when work had to be rushed to house the 
Peace Commission of Russia and Japan in 1905. 
The work was carried on night and day, the men 
spurred by the premium offered for the completed 
building. Precious woods were used in finish- 
ing and the apartments for the commissioners were 
beautifully furnished. After the conference 
everything went to souvenir hunters. 

John McQueen came from Ireland and fought 
in the War of 181 2. He located in Liverpool, 
where his son Robert was born in 1821. 

The petition for a church in Salina, drawn up 
about 1828, was preserved for a long time but is 
said to be now lost. It had the signatures of six 
or seven men and the marks of two or three. In 
the absence of proof, hearsay is depended upon for 
the following names as the original signatures: 
Thomas McCarthy, James Lynch, Patrick 
Cooney, Thomas Doyle, Patrick Jackman, Peter 
Caldwell, and Jacob Hausenfrats. 

Jeremiah Driscoll and his wife Margaret came 
from Mallow, County Cork, about 1840. They 
lived on a farm which they bought in Clay but 
after a time went to Salina, where they made their 
home. Their children are: Ellen, who married 
John Leahy; Mary, who married Thomas Mc- 



Salina 65 

Carthy; Margaret, who married Terence Riley; 
Martin, and Agnes. 

William McKenzie and his children, Jane, 
William, Robert, and Alexander, were Irish. 
They went to Liverpool after 1830. 

Father Guerdet was one of the first professors of 
the University of Lyons, France. He wrote 
articles against the government and Louis Phi- 
lippe, and was obliged to leave the country. 
He went to England and then as a missionary to 
Canada, then to SaHna. (Eugene Petit.) 

Patrick Ford owned a farm and salt works. 
He married Nancy, the daughter of James Slat- 
tery, who came to Salina about 1835. 

John Hoolihan 

John Hoolihan, son of Michael and Honora 
Clary Hoolihan, came to Salina with his parents 
when he was nine months old. His father was 
from Kilkenny, and his mother from Tipperary. 

John Hoolihan formed a partnership with 
Daniel O'Brien, and constructed many buildings 
and public works. 

John Leahy and his wife, Kate Clary, came from 
Tipperary in 1840. Their children are: Mat- 
thew, John, and Dennis. The wives of John 
Leahy and Michael Hoolihan are sisters. 



66 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Father Hackett was buried in the old school- 
yard for many years and then transferred to St. 
Agnes Cemetery. 

Garrett Doyle was one of the first police com- 
missioners. 

Michael, Daniel, and James Murray were First 
Vf ard settlers and were all well-to-do. 

The children of William Butler, who lived at 
the comer of Spring and Court Streets, are Mary, 
who married Michael Tobin, William, and Ed- 
ward. 

The children of John Shannon, corner of Free 
and First North Streets, are: James, Mary, and 
Libbie. 

Patrick Mulherin has three sons: James, John, 
and Bernard. 

Mr. Rodgers came to Salina from County 
Sligo in 1 83 1. 

William McFarland had one son, Robert, and 
several daughters. 

Christopher Hand came to Salina about 1830. 
His sons are John and Thomas, whose daughter 
Gertrude married Henry Gale, and their daughter 
in turn married Edward, the son of John Lighton. 

"When Isaac Van Vleck came to Salt Point, 



Salina 67 

in 1792, he found there a Mr. Hopkins engaged in 
the manufacture of salt in what were then called 
'salt works.' "^ 

Richard Maloney was paid one hundred and 
fifty dollars for clearing lot 43, Cemetery, in 1829. 

Russell Buckley was another early boatman and 
is said to have taken the first load of salt through 
the Erie Canal from Salina to Utica. His son 
Christopher perished in the Patriots' War. 

Hugh Gallagher and his wife, Mary Gallagher 
Gallagher, came to Salina about 1839. Their 
children are: Antony, who married Mary Kill- 
gallon; John, who married Elizabeth Hanley; 
Maria, who married Daniel O'Brien; Anna, who 
married James Powers; Kate, who married John 
Funda; and Julia, who married Timothy Dris- 
coll. 

There was in Liverpool another O'Neill family. 
The father was George, a champion. His son, 
James, was called "Yankee Jim." The term 
Yankee thus applied generally meant an Irish 
Catholic who had lost the faith or affiliated with 
the "Yankees." It was often used as a synonym 
for Protestant. 

James Stimson called himself the Presbyterian, 
and was fond of quoting Lorenzo Dow to those who 

' G. S. Strong. 



68 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

wished to listen. Those who did not so wish, 
Hstened nevertheless, fearing the heavy hand of 
this disciple. However, James often accompanied 
his friends to their various churches. 

The Court-House Fight 

Election day in pioneer times was dreadful for 
the lovers of peace and order. Intemperance, 
brawls, recklessness, and cheating were common. 
Might prevailed and a stolen ballot box was often 
the booty of the stronger. Political excitement, 
added to the ordinary conditions, proved just 
enough to make a tumult. Much has already 
been written of those days, but one of the battles 
is held in the memories of many in Salina, who 
call it the fight at the court-house, then situated 
on the corner of Salina and Ash Streets. The 
chief actors were Donohue and Mooney, who, how- 
ever, became separated in the crowd and carried 
on their fisticuffs independently. The story 
centres on Donohue and his prowess. So in- 
credible were his strength and endurance that men 
of to-day hesitate to relate the story, though all 
agree regarding the main facts. It is a matter of 
common consent that William McCann, now 
eighty-three years old (1907), a witness of the 
fight, gives the most authentic account of how 
the affair began and ended, and the trivial cause. 

It was sometime between the years 1840 and 
1845, it may have been 1841, the year of which 
so much lawlessness is recorded, that a political 



Salina 69 

meeting took place at the court-house. The 
building was so crowded that one could scarcely 
move. Donohue and his friend Mooney stood 
together behind the last row of seats. They were 
pushed and jostled continually and often crowded 
over onto the occupants of the rear seats. One of 
these, named Ase Daggett, did not enjoy being 
thus crowded, so he pulled Donohue' s cap down 
over its wearer's eyes. Donohue, a peaceable 
man, said nothing, but replaced his cap. A 
few minutes later Daggett repeated his little 
trick, and Donohue, replacing the cap for the 
second time, said in a terribly quiet voice, "Don't 
you do that again." The warning in his voice was 
unheeded, and when for the third time the cap 
was disturbed, Donohue reached over, caught 
Daggett by the breast, and with one arm lifted him 
out of his chair and started with him for the door 
and the fight was on. The crowd was so great that 
Daggett became a wedge to open the way and so 
they reached the steps. Many tried to rescue 
Daggett, but Donohue, who was powerful and 
fearless, knocked down one after the other just as 
fast as they came up. He was ready for all 
comers and no one came up for a second experi- 
ence. One, in falling, often carried down others 
with him because of the crowd. Men saw their 
friends go down and looked upon Donohue as the 
aggressor and attacked him, but he stood his 
ground, hitting right and left while a hundred 
were trying to get at him. He knocked down 



70 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

many but during the whole fight never went down 
himself farther than one knee. Neither he nor the 
others knew what they were fighting for, but after 
it had begun Donohue had to defend himself, and 
this he did according to the rules without a single 
move that was not fair fight, even after his 
opponents assailed him with chunks of frozen 
mud. 

So the fight went on, Donohue finally getting 
braced against the wall and ready to keep it up 
as long as necessary. But James Harroun and 
Alexander McLean, busy bringing in men to the 
caucus, came upon the scene. "Hold on there, 
boys. By the devil, stop that boys," said Har- 
roun and going up to Donohue said, "My good 
man, come with me," and Donohue as meekly as a 
child bore his six feet and four inches of height 
after the peace-maker. 

The fight of Donohue became a fireside tale and 
received many exaggerations. Nelson Phillips, 
who witnessed the fight, was fond of recounting 
it. He said that Donohue knocked down five or 
six men with the forward thrust of his fist and as 
many more behind him with his elbow, as his 
arm came back to position. 

James Donohue was a comparative stranger, 
and had never been known to fight. He was cool 
and deliberate in all things and of excellent char- 
acter. He was an industrious laborer and on this 
day when he had to fight won the respect and ad- 



Salina 7^ 

miration of all. No one looked upon his conduct 
as anything but gallant and courageous. He is 
said to have been the largest man in the County, 
essentially a man of peace but powerful and abso- 
lutely fearless. 



II 

SYRACUSE 

THE site of the city of Syracuse is thus de- 
scribed by Clark: 

The ground upon which the city of Syracuse now 
stands was originally a part of the Salt Springs Reser- 
vation, and at the time the county was organized 
in 1794 with all that part of the reservation east of 
Onondaga Creek and Lake was included in the town 
of Manlius. 

The first locality which received a name within the 
limits of the present city of Syracuse was called 
Webster's Landing, from Ephraim Webster, who kept 
a few goods for the Indian trade, on the bank of the 
creek, a little south of its outlet. Mr. Webster was 
succeeded by Benjamin Newkirk in 1793, at which 
time there was quite a number of Indian cabins, 
ranging along the west bank of the creek, enough to 
form a respectable Indian village. The dark, gloomy, 
and almost impenetrable swamp now occupied by the 
city, was then a favorite resort for wolves, bears, wild- 
cats, mud-turtles, and swamp rattlesnakes. The 
western portion of the valley about Syracuse was 
originally timbered with hemlock, birch, and soft 
maple; the eastern portion with cedar and pine.* 

' Vol. ii., p. 83. 

72 



Syracuse 73 

In 1804 an act was passed directing the sale of two 
hundred and fifty acres of land, of the Salt Springs 
Reservation, the avails of which were to be expended 
in laying out and improving a road running from lot 
forty-nine, Manlius, to lot thirty-eight, Onondaga, 
east and west through the reservation. The lot was 
laid out in rather an irregular form and the reason 
assigned for so doing, was that as much dry land 
might be secured as possible. But notwithstanding 
all the precaution of Mr. Geddes, he found it impos- 
sible to locate the ground in such a manner as to 
avoid entirely the swamp, some considerable portion 
of which was covered with water most of the year; a 
doleful place, indeed, for the site of a future city. ' 

The lot was thereafter called the Walton Tract. ^ 

In spring [1819], the water did not usually subside 
sufficiently to allow people to pass with any degree 
of comfort till late in May or June and those going 
from Onondaga to Salina were obliged to pass around 
on the high ground east of Syracuse over by-ways, 
which were cut in every direction through the reserva- 
tion for the purpose of collecting wood in winter for 
the salt works. A person passing over the present 
[1849] improved roads can have no conception of 
their impossible condition in spring and autumn, at 
that period. In fact the only time when they were 
endurable was in winter, when perfectly frozen and 
covered with a good body of snow.^ 

In the fall of 18 19 Judge Form an removed to Syra- 
cuse with his family. At that time there were but two 

» Vol. u., p. 83. » Vol. ii., p. 86. i Vol. ii., p. 89. 



74 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

frame houses in the village, besides the tavern. Log 
houses and plank and slab cabins were scattered over 
the dry ground, most of which latter had been ten- 
anted by laborers on the canal. ^ 

In 1822 Syracuse had not more than two hundred 
and fifty inhabitants, and no place of worship, no 
schoolhouse. Almost every man engaged on the 
canal was sick.^ 

In 1822 Judge Forman procured the passage of a 
law authorizing the erection of fixtures for the pur- 
pose of manufacturing coarse salt by solar evapora- 
tion.^ 

To no individual so much as to Judge Forman are 
we indebted for a modification of our salt laws, and 
for the substitution of water power for hand labor in 
the elevation of brine, for the reservoirs, and all the 
apparatus connected with those improvements, and 
for the introduction of the manufacture of coarse 
salt by solar heat. These were measures in which 
the public were deeply interested, which particularly 
absorbed his attention, and which have greatly im- 
proved and increased the manufacture of salt in the 
town of Salina.'' 

They set up two crotches, suspended their kettle on 
a chain around a pole between them, and thus carried 
on the business of making salt.^ 

1797. Mr. Hopkins located on present site of 
Syracuse.^ 

' Vol. ii., p. 90. 2 Vol. ii., p. 91. 3 Vol. ii., p. 76. 

< Vol. ii., p. 77. 5 Vol. ii., p. 10. * Vol. ii., p. 87. 



Syracuse 75 

1799. Mr. Butler located on the present site of 
Syracuse in the vicinity of the spot where Mr. Bo- 
gardus put up his hotel (site of the Empire Block).' 

John Savage 

The family of John Savage is said to have been 
the first Irish family to locate in Syracuse. He 
came about 1821, when two hundred and fifty 
scattered people made the nucleus of the future 
city. His wife, Mary Ringwood, and their five 
children made up the family. They were Mar- 
garet, who married Campbell, Anna, Richard, 
Mary, who married Sylvester R. Town, and one 
other child, who died in infancy. 

Richard Savage ran the packet-boat for some 
time and then became a builder and lumber 
merchant. He built the St. Charles Hotel. 

John Savage was remembered as a cheerful, 
hopeful man, a general favorite in the village, 
fond of children, fond of dancing, in which he was 
an expert. His descendants take their own share 
of the world's work, as he did in the early days of 
the village. 

Clark records^: 

In 1794 the county of Onondaga was erected from 
the western part of Herkimer and included all the 
Military Tract which now embraces all the counties 
of Seneca, Cayuga, Cortland, and Onondaga. 

In Clark's History of Onondaga are brief refer- 

^ Vol. ii., p. 87. => J. V. H. Clark. 



76 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

ences to some who bear Irish names. Such are 
here transcribed: 

1 792. Cornelius Higgins built blockhouse at Salina. 
Major Cochran accompanied Col. Van Schaack in his 
expedition against the Indians (Onondagas) in 1779, 
and visited Green Point, Onondaga Lake, Brewerton, 
and the hamlets of Onondaga. James Dean was an 
interpreter with Ephraim Webster, March 11, 1793, 
and was a witness of leases July 9, 1788. Vincent 
Matthews and James Emmott were State Commis- 
sioners for several years. Among the jurors, grand 
and petit, of the first court were Henry Moore and 
Thomas Morgan. In the Circuit Court, Onondaga 
County, June 14, 1797, among the grand jurors were 
John Lamb and Joseph Cody. Judge of Onondaga 
County Court in 1823 was James Sisson, Jr. In 
1828 was Martin M. Ford. Surrogate of Onondaga 
County in 1802 and 181 1 was George Hall; in 1831 
was John Fleming . Members of Assembly : 1 803 , John 
Lamb; 1809-14, Barnet Mooney; 18 16, George Hall; 
181 7, James Webb; 1829, Samuel R. Matthews; 1843, 
Thomas McCarthy; 1845, Dennis McCarthy and 1849, 
Samuel Hart. In 1825 Thomas McCarthy was 
elected trustee of the village of Salina, and in 1826 
President of the village. The Federal Company or- 
ganized for making salt in 1798 included Daniel 
Keeler and Thomas Hart. In 1825 an act was passed 
providing an engineer for the salt works at Salina. 
Simeon Ford, Esquire, was appointed. Barnet 
Mooney of Hannibal was one of the committee to 
circulate the petition for the Erie canal. Jeremiah 
Keeler built the section of Erie canal through Syra- 
cuse. Michael Hogan and Charles Walton bought 



Syracuse 77 

a portion of the Abraham Walton tract about 1804. 
Tract was sold again in 1814. ' 

Carroll E. Smith writes^: 

1 84 1 . Gunpowder explosion. Isaac Stanton killed. 
The Irish wounded: Hugh Rogers, Thomas R. 
Hall, Joseph McDermott, Patrick Denfee, Hand- 
wright, B. L. Higgins, John McCaslin, Dr. James 
Foran, Mr. Martin, John Burns, Luke Collins, and 
William Lilly. 1824. Joel Cody's residence with the 
famous flower garden. [Frank Hunt says he was 
Irish.] 1827. At north side of Franklin Street bridge 
a small tavern was kept by William Hicks. 1825, 
Charles T. Hicks was an active man in the Methodist 
Episcopal society. 

The towns of Onondaga are Camillus, Cicero, 
Clay, Dewitt, Elbridge, Fabius, Geddes, Lafayette, 
Lysander, Manlius, Marcellus, Onondaga, Otisco, 
Pompey, SaHna, Skaneateles, Spafford, Tully, and 
Van Buren. 

Timothy Cheney writes ^i 

1823, George Davis & Co., and John Rogers & Co. 
1825, May, First village election. John Rogers, 
trustee. James Webb, assessor. Henry Young, 
poundmaster. Thomas Bennett and Bradley Carey. 
May 8, store license to Joel Owen. He played in 
German band. 1826. Joel Owen and John Wall, first 
firemen. M. M. White and Judge James Webb. 
H. W. McGowan played in the German band. 1828. 
Calvin Riley, soapmaker. 1829. George T. M. Davis 
built a house at the corner of Onondaga and South 

' J. V. H. Clark. 'Pioneer Times. sT E. Cheney. 



78 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Ave., on the cinder road. John Wall was a builder 
and in 1829 was contractor for building a jail. 1830. 
Caleb Davis, butcher shop. Father of Thomas T. 
Davis. George Davis, merchant. 

Cummings was an old hunter and trapper who kept 
pet bears, wolves, monkeys, wildcats etc., which he 
exhibited to passing boatmen for a small fee. He was 
bought out in 1824. This Cummings was a miserable 
old fellow and everybody was glad to get rid of him.* 

The other house near the corner of Warren and 
James in 1824 was the residence of the widow Gush- 
ing who obtained a scanty subsistence by retailing 
milk to those needing this product of her only cow.^ 
[Frank Hunt said his mother knew her as Granny 
Gushing.] 

A little Irishman named John Dunn had a black- 
smithing and horseshoeing shop on the corner of 
Genesee and Mill streets in 1824.^ 

The garden of Judge Joshua Forman was well 
stocked with fruit and was tended by a Protestant 
Irishman named Montgomery, a very intelligent, 
faithful man."* 

Other residents in 1824 were Mr. Martin who had a 
carriage factory; James Webb; Henry Young, a 
miller; Matthew L. Davis, a builder; William Hicks, 
tavern keeper; Lieutenant Russell and John Rod- 
gers, one of the most enterprising men in the village of 
Syracuse. Amos and Rufus Stanton. Isaac Stan- 

' T. E. Cheney. ^ Ibid. J Ibid. i Ibid. 



Syracuse 79 

ton had a stonecutter shop at the corner of Church 
and Salina. H. & W. Dowd. ^ 

This story is related by M. C. Hand of a man 
who bears the Irish name of James B. Moore ^: 

Our first schoolhouse was built on Church Street. 
The first sermons were preached there by all sects. 
In February, 1821, was organized the first Baptist 
society with a membership of thirteen persons. 
The seminary set Hamilton offered to provide preach- 
ing every Sunday on condition that those interested 
should furnish a horse and saddle to be the property 
of the seminary. James B. Moore had just bought a 
fine horse in exchange for sixty bushels of salt at one 
dollar a bushel. He was notified one day that this 
little religious society had voted that his horse had 
a providential call for this purpose ; he at once added 
his vote and the horse was sent to Hamilton. As 
Moore was a strong Methodist and never a member of 
the Baptist society he was looked upon as a most gen- 
erous Christian. He was a good citizen, devoted to 
his family. He and his wife lived to see more than 
eighty years and both died from old age on the same 
day. 

Patrick Shaunessy 

Patrick Shaunessy and his wife, Mary Bustin, 
came from Stone Hall, County Limerick, to 
Syracuse about 1830. They had married very 
young and Patrick was eager to come to America 
when the boys of his neighborhood made up a 

^ T. E. Cheney. ^ From a Forest to a City. 



8o Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

party to emigrate. He had paid his pound 
sterling as guarantee, but his mother insisted that 
he forfeit the deposit and wait until his family 
could come with him. The boys who sailed 
went down with the ship. 

One son of Patrick Shaunessy was born and 
buried at sea. His other children are: Mary, 
who married George Clark; Sarah, who married 
John Murphy; Johanna, who married James 
Baker; Margaret, who married Thomas Knobel; 
James, who married Mary Hennesy; and Thomas, 
who married Mary Shaunessy. 

Thomas McLaughlin 

Just after the coronation of Queen Victoria, 
Thomas McLaughlin left her dominion and came 
to Syracuse. He was the son of Andrew and 
Bridget Gavigan McLaughlin, Parish of Dum- 
feeny. County Mayo. He landed in Quebec and 
lived there two years, coming by the Oswego Canal 
to Syracuse. Here he worked for Joseph Savage 
in the salt works near West Genesee Street. 

His wife Honora was the daughter of John and 
Nancy Boyle Burke, also of County Mayo, and 
their children are Bridget, who married Peter 
McLaughlin of Utica, Ellen, and Mary, who be- 
came a nun. 

Ellen McLaughlin has lived more than seven- 
ty-four years in Syracuse (1910), and remembers 
many incidents of the early years. She married 



Syracuse 8 1 

Patrick, the son of James and Bridget Barnes 
Doyle of County Cariow, all of whom came to 
Syracuse after 1840. Their children are: James, 
who married Mary Egan; Delia, Sister Vincent; 
Hanna, who married Charles McNeill; John, who 
married Elizabeth Mooney; Robert, who married 
Elizabeth Prunty; Mary H.; Esther, who mar- 
ried William J. Mahar; Agnes, who married Ran- 
son Sheldon; Thomas, who married Bertha 
Whitney; and Ellen, who married Thomas H. 
Bums. 

Patrick and Edward McLaughlin, brothers of 
Thomas, came with him to America. 

John Leslie 
Ross Leslie 

The name Leslie was for more than fifty years 
prominent in the business life of Syracuse and 
literally a household word. Father and sons were 
engaged in the general grocery business with 
exceptional success. John Leslie and his wife, 
Margaret Cunningham, came to Syracuse before 
the year 1830 from Ireland. Soon after, John and 
his brother Ross were in business in the row of 
stores on the present site of the Wieting Opera 
House. They were prominent and successful, 
winning a reputation for industry and honesty in 
all their dealings. John Leslie lived forty-six 
years in Syracuse, a warm-hearted, frank, kindly 
man. All of his sons entered the grocery branch 



82 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

of commercial life, each starting independently. 
Later two of the brothers formed a partnership, 
while the other two entered their employ. David, 
in partnership first with Ritchie and later, 1858, 
with his brother John, spent thirty-five years 
in the grocer's trade. The partnership with 
his brother lasted twenty-seven years. Thomas 
Leslie spent thirty-two years, mostly as book- 
keeper, in the same business, while the fourth 
brother, Ross, acted as treasurer for thirty years. 
David was the chief salesman and John the chief 
buyer. They worked and lived together in 
harmony and contentment for many years. They 
retired from business in 1886, following the death 
of John in the previous year. 

The children of John and Margaret Cunningham 
Leslie are: David, 1827, John, 1829, Thomas, 
Ross, 1 841, Martha, Mary, Margaret, Anna, and 
Elizabeth. 

Ross Leslie married Margaret, the daughter of 
Elisha and Helen Forman Whitney. Margaret, 
the granddaughter of Joshua Forman, founder 
of Syracuse, was born in Onondaga but spent her 
youth in Poughkeepsie. Her only child, Grace 
Leslie, married Albert J. Paltz. 

Elizabeth Leslie married, and her son, David R., 
assumed his mother's name, Leslie, by legisla- 
tive act. 

There are a couple of stories told of the Leslies 
which show that on occasion they would strike 
fire. As a rule they applied themselves strictly 



Syracuse 83 

to business and took no part in other affairs. 
Their patronage was enormous both from the 
Erie Canal travellers and the townsmen. 

One day a boatman came into the store, stood 
around kicking his heels and boasting of his fight- 
ing powers. Because of Leslie's religion the 
boaster mistook his nationality and presently 
started in to abuse the Irish. For a long time he 
was allowed to vent his feelings and tell the un- 
resisting air that he could lick any Irishman that 
ever was bom. Then John Leslie, senior, asked 
him if he would not like to view the back yard. 
He said he would, the two left the store, and 
Leslie invited the visitor to remove his coat. 
"What for?" "You are going to be licked by an 
Irishman." And he was. 

Another time a wanderer named Leslie came 
into the store. He liked his Syracuse namesakes 
and began to prove the existence of a relation- 
ship. One of the firm asked him if he was Irish. 
"No," was the answer. "Well, we are, so you 
cannot be a relative of ours." 

C. E. Smith writes^: 

1819-20. On the Wieting corner, stores were 
erected in 1819-20. The third store from the corner 
was occupied by W. H. Mosely, the grocer, the "green 
store," the first store between Onondaga valley and 
the village of Salina. The grocery was later kept by 
John Leslie, father of David, John, Ross, and Thomas 
Leslie, who also were grocers. 

* Pioneer Times. 



84 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

John Lighton 
James Lighton 

John and James Lighton came to America 
and established the family in Onondaga about 
1830. John married Mary Burke and James 
married Catharine McDermott. The children 
of John and Mary Burke Lighton are James, John, 
and Margaret, who were born in Syracuse. The 
children of James and Catharine McDermott 
Lighton are John and Kate. James and John 
Lighton, sons of John, formed the firm of Lighton 
Brothers, which later joined with McKeever in 
the well-known grocery firm at Lighton's Locks. 
James Lighton married Mary, the daughter of 
James and Margaret Brennan Doran, and their 
children are: James, who married Marie The- 
resa Keeler; Mary E.; Margaret Theresa, who 
married Frank H. LoughUn; Thomas, who mar- 
ried Electa Canfield; Anna Laura, who married 
Walter Welch; John, who married Katharine 
Toole; and Martha Tilden. 

A short sketch of the life and character of James 
Lighton is given in Beauchamp's History, volume 
two, page 148. For three quarters of a century 
the family in Syracuse has been characterized by 
benevolence and hospitality. 

John Lighton, the son of John and Mary Burke 
Lighton, married Theresa Fechter, and their 
children are Louis, Edward, C. Frank, John B., 
Arthur, George, Lula, and Stella. 



Syracuse 85 

Margaret Lighten married James Finnegan and 
their children are John, Thomas, and George. 

John Lighten, son of James and Catharine 
McDermott Lighton, married Anna Kavanaugh, 
and their children are James McDermott, William 
T,, Ellen Frances, and Tasiana, who married 
Parnell Fleming. 

Dennis Driscoll 

Dennis Driscoll and his wife, Johanna Catharine 
Collins, and five of their ten children left their 
native land and came to Syracuse in 1832. They 
were from County Cork not far from Bantry Bay 
and sought the new home in America to better 
their fortune. A thousand pounds was a small 
fortune when they landed at Quebec and started 
in business by opening a tavern. There were many 
guests who sought their hospitality but there was 
no profit, for they were immigrants and poor. 
Dennis Driscoll saw his money disappear like 
snow in summer and in a few months closed 
his tavern and entered the more profitable field 
in Syracuse with enough money for his needs. 

They were farmers in Ireland as were most of 
the Irish and his father was the last heir of some 
entailed property. His son must find work and 
chose to come to America. 

Dennis was the son of Dennis and Goodwin 
Driscoll of the Parish of Scull, Bantry Bay. His 
wife was Johanna, daughter of Dennis and Mary 



86 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

DriscoU Collins, of the parish of Caharrough, forty 
miles from Cork. 

In Syracuse they built a house on Franklin 
Street near Genesee and their investments were 
profitable enough for their maintenance in com- 
fort. Johanna Driscoll passed the century mark 
in age by several years and saw the city grow up 
around her; she saw too all her children pass be- 
fore her into death. 

Their children were: Cornelius, who died in 
Washington; one Dennis, who died in Ireland, as 
did also Eliza and Honora; Richard, who went 
to California; Bridget, who married Mr. Crow- 
ley, and went to New Orleans. There were 
two others, ten in all; Hanna married Charles 
McFall and Dennis married Catharine Louise 
Savage. 

Dennis, Sr., had learned the mason trade, and 
became a contractor doing public and private 
work. He owned salt-blocks also. 

Dennis Driscoll, Jr., was born some time after 
the arrival of his parents on this side of the At- 
lantic. He grew to manhood and entered actively 
into business life as a contractor, but preserved 
a taste for literature and military things. He 
joined a company of the State militia and was 
made Captain. This was the prelude to his part in 
the Civil War. He raised a company among his 
friends and acquaintances, who trusted and loved 
him, and went to the front as Captain of Company 
C, I2th Regiment, N. Y. Vol. Infantry. 



Syracuse 87 

During an official visit to his home city he was 
the guest of honor at a banquet, the toasts de- 
livered at which reflect the spirit of those days of 
anxiety. The following toast was offered: "Our 
honored guest — May he soon return to us with 
the laurels of victory around his brow and the life 
blood rushing free and healthy through his brave 
and honest heart." 

The children of Dennis and Catharine Savage 
DriscoU are: Richard L., Ambrose C, Mary C, 
Milburge, and J. Frances. 

Ambrose is a contractor and civil engineer; 
he was graduated from Syracuse University in 
1887. He married Helen, the daughter of George 
F. and Helen Borden Thurston. J. Frances 
DriscoU was educated in the public schools and 
graduated from the Syracuse High School in 
1878. Music and painting claimed her time, and 
to these were added the care of real estate which 
she shared with her brother. 

Dr. James Foran 
Bruce writes^: 

James Foran was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, 
in 1807, where he received a good education and be- 
gan life as a merchant. His natural tastes led him to 
take up the medical profession. He came to America 
— to Quebec in 1825 — locating first in Albany, where 
he began teaching in a female seminary, giving all of his 

' D. H. Bruce, vol. i., p. 385. 



88 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

leisure to the study of medicine. At the end of three 
years he removed to Canastota, where he continued 
teaching and studying. In 1833 he settled in Salina, 
where he devoted two more years to study before as- 
suming the responsibilities of active practice. In 
1834 he received a license from the State Medical 
Society and opened an office. In 1837 he became a 
member of the Onondaga Medical Society, and was 
its president in 1859. In 1840 he removed to Syra- 
cuse, where he remained until his death. He was ter- 
ribly injured in the gunpowder explosion and about 
six years before his death was poisoned while treat- 
ing a patient by a discharge reaching his blood through 
an abrasion on his hand, which soon affected his brain 
and wrecked his mental powers. During a period 
of insanity he was drowned in Onondaga creek, 
December 10, 1873. It was written of him that "in 
the practice of obstetrics he was recognized as second 
to none in Central New York." 

The following is from the records of the Cen- 
tennial Meeting (1906) of the Onondaga Medical 
Society from the Reminiscences of Dr. Alfred 
Mercer : 

Dr. Foran was of Irish stock, if not of Irish birth, 
and had a large Irish practice, particularly in obstet- 
rics. For some reason the doctor frequently called 
me to assist him in difficiilt labors, requiring the use 
of forceps or other manual interference. For the 
most part I looked on while the doctor did the work. 
These calls made me reasonably familiar with most 
forms of difficult labor. One of these calls had a sad 
ending for both the doctor and the patient, the case 



Syracuse 89 

proving fatal without any known source of infection. 
The doctor had an abrasion on his hand followed by 
local and general infection; abscesses formed in his 
hand, seriously crippling the hand for use. He was 
delirious for several days and his life almost despaired 
of. However he finally recovered but his mind was 
never right afterwards. He continued to be em- 
ployed by his friends, though he was quite incompetent 
to do business at times. Finally he wandered off 
alone, and was found drowned in Onondaga creek, 
south of the city. 

Dr. James Foran taught in the Salina Institute 
on Tiirtle Street between Salina and Park Streets 
probably before he began the practice of medicine 
in 1834. He read papers before the medical 
societies on vaccination and cholera. He was the 
first physician to the penitentiary, appointed in 
1 85 1, and was one of the founders of the Onondaga 
County Savings Bank in 1855. 

Dr. Foran married Esther Castle, an aunt of 
Alfred Higgins of the American Express office. 
He was a devoted member of the Catholic Church 
and with Dennis McCarthy conducted a public 
debate on religion, and silenced the slanderers of 
his faith. He is held in affectionate remembrance 
by his patients of long ago. He was learned and 
high tempered, skilful, and a ready speaker. 
He practised both medicine and surgery, but 
especially obstetrics. He had the largest prac- 
tice of obstetrics of any physician in the County 
before his time or since. 



90 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Dennis Hunt 

Michael Hunt 

Frances Galvin Hunt 

The lordly forests of Canada bowed to the wood- 
man's axe and freighted with treasure the im- 
mense sailing vessels bound for England. The 
empty vessels were then furnished with rude 
bunks and carried westward crowds of emigrants 
among whom were many from Ireland. They 
brought their own provisions for the long voyage 
and were furnished water and fire for cooking. 
Many of them had never been beyond the bound- 
aries of their native villages and the task of 
providing food for a journey of three months' 
duration fell to their unskilled hands. The dis- 
comforts and miseries of their rude ship and the 
terrors of the deep w^ere evils enough in them- 
selves; but there were added the dangers of 
improper food and the menace of ship fever. 
They were stout hearts that set out, brave men 
and brave women, who came to find a new home 
for themselves in the wilds of America. 

Dennis Hunt was a younger son in a family of 
ten children. According to the custom of the 
country the oldest son inherits the farm, so Den- 
nis and his wife Frances and their year-old son 
took their dower and left their native land. With 
them came Michael Hunt, brother of Dennis. 

The voyage w^as unusually long. They were 
thirteen weeks and one day in crossing. Pro- 



Syracuse 91 

visions had run short and the passengers were 
obhged to buy the necessary food from the captain 
at his price. Water was Hmited to one half-pint 
a day for each passenger. The kixury of the first 
weeks seemed sinful waste in comparison with 
the privations of the later days of the journey. 
The tobacco with which each had supplied him- 
self was all consumed in the first month of the 
voyage. None was to be had for love or money. 
They found a substitute. When the tea had been 
steeped and drunk, the tea leaves, carefully har- 
vested, were dried and smoked. 

Under such conditions they came into the St. 
Lawrence. Never was land so welcome. The 
opposite shores stretched themselves like wel- 
coming arms to the sea- weary travellers. They 
wanted to feel the land again tmder their feet. 
Especially Frances Hunt and her baby were de- 
termined to disembark and they went ashore at 
Ramouski, 250 miles below Quebec. Dennis Hunt, 
his wife and baby, and his brother Michael were 
the only passengers that left the ship; the others 
went on to Quebec. Ramouski was a French 
settlement in the lumber districts. There was 
not a single English-speaking person in the whole 
colony, and here these Irish immigrants made their 
home until they had forgotten the cradling deep. 
Three years they lived here and the baby spoke 
only French, when he spoke at all. The men soon 
obtained work in the lumber camps and grew 
skillful with the axe. That skill was later called 



92 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

into play on the bank of the Erie in S3rracuse on a 
memorable occasion. 

The Irishwoman, who could not exchange ideas 
with those of her sex because of their unknown 
language, had many hours of loneHness, but she 
soon found an opportunity to employ those hoiu"S. 
The owners of the timber offered her not only 
wages but a bounty of logs if she would cook for 
the men of the lumber camp. She eagerly ac- 
cepted the offer and it is very probable that she 
cooked well and that the men, well-fed, showed 
their appreciation by greater efforts in their 
work, thus to increase the bounty of logs promised 
to her. The sale of these logs paid for a home 
in Syracuse and Frances Hunt proved herself a 
woman equal to any occasion. 

In 1834 the Hunt family came to Syracuse and 
lived opposite the old red mill. For the first year 
Dennis worked at various trades and then became 
a porter in the Syracuse House. In a few years, 
1837, he started a boarding house he had bought on 
the north bank of the Erie between Clinton and 
Franklin Streets and lived there during the rest 
of his life (1858). The Erie Canal was then the 
great highway of travel. The boarding houses 
served also as hotels for travellers, especially im- 
migrants. If an Irishman in any part of the 
County was expecting his wife and children, or a 
sister or friend, he would leave word at the board- 
ing house, and the proprietor would receive them 
from the canal-boat into his house until he could 



Syracuse 93 

send word of their arrival. Sometimes repre- 
sentatives from every county of Ireland would 
sit at one table. Sometimes a house would re- 
ceive almost exclusively people from the county or 
province of the landlord. Sometimes the im- 
migrant or his relative in this country would pay 
the landlord for his hospitality and sometimes he 
would not. The pioneers, and the late comers as 
well, gave to the new arrivals of their abundance. 
Individuals received into their homes their own 
relatives or friends or townsmen of the old coun- 
try until they could look about and find work, 
and a place of their own. The regular hotels were 
not anxious to entertain immigrants and often 
refused them accommodations in their need. 
The abuses and fleecing of the immigrants in the 
large cities were unknown along the Erie, where a 
man and his goods could be reasonably safe in 
any of the numerous boarding houses. The regu- 
lar boarders were workers in various fields, mostly 
unmarried young men. When they married 
they began housekeeping for themselves. The 
landlord was a kind of father to them. On the 
night of the gunpowder explosion Dennis Hunt 
locked the doors to keep his boarders in, as every 
one thought at the first explosion that trouble 
was abroad. All soon learned the dreadful truth. 
Michael Hunt was a prominent actor in the 
scene at Liberty Pole, when his woodman's skill 
was exercised at the base of the 150-foot flag- 
staff. Michael Gleason receives the credit for 



94 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

the deed because he was the leader in the action. 
Three or four men wielded the axes, IMichael 
Gleason, IMichael Hunt, and one or two others. 
Irishmen surrounded them and some of them had 
guns and stood guard. Among these were 
Edward Farley and Dennis Hunt. 

Dennis Hunt and his family like many of their 
countrj^men bear a name forced upon them by the 
Penal Laws of a t^Tannous government, which 
strove thereb}^ to destroy all that was Irish, 
whether in name or in book or in custom or in 
song. One of these laws was to the effect that an 
Irish name must be translated into its English 
meaning to make certain records legal. 

The father of Dennis Hunt was James Feighery 
in the records of his first marriage, but when he 
married the second time, he was obliged for some 
reason or another to translate the name into Eng- 
lish, that is a hunt, or chase. So in the same family 
there are those who bear the Irish name and those 
who bear the English equivalent. Far removed 
from such times and such laws, the incident be- 
comes onl}" an interesting story, yet with an echo 
that rouses the rebellious blood of Erin's children. 

The children of James Hunt of Parish Eglis, 
King's Count}^ Ireland, are: John, Matthew, 
Dennis, IMichael, Thomas, Francis, James, Pat- 
rick, IMary, and Kittie. 

Dennis Hunt married Frances Galvin, daughter 
of James Galvin, Parish of IMo^^ston, King's 
Coiinty, in 1829, and came to Canada in 1831. 



Syracuse 95 

Their children are James and Frank, and three 
others who died in infancy-. James married, 
first, Honora, daughter of Edward Hickey of Os- 
wego. Their children are James, Francis, and 
IMargaret, who married John Button. His second 
wife was Bridget, daughter of Stephen and Dora 
Quinn McGinnis of Parish Eglis, King's County, 
Ireland (sister of the wife of Frank Hunt). His 
third wdfe was Ann Murphy, and their children are 
Margaret, Joanna, and Dennis. 

James Hunt was a blacksmith for man}- years. 

Frank Hunt married Catharine, daughter of 
Stephen and Dora Quinn McGinnis, Parish Eglis, 
King's Co^lnt^^ Ireland. Their children are: 
Stephen and James, twins; Dora, Frances, Eliz- 
abeth, Dennis, William, Charles, Mary, Theresa, 
and Frank. 

Frank Hunt entered the S>Tacuse High School 
when it was organized in 1856. It was started by 
promoting the highest classes in the other schools, 
ward schools, to form the first class in the High 
School. There were no examinations, but the 
classes were promoted. There were no other Irish 
in his class. He spent two years there, then 
learned the carpenter's trade, which he still fol- 
lows. 

Frank Hunt has had seven children who have 
attended the High School. 

County Rivalry 
In the old, old countries of the world, in those 



96 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

lands whose history is recorded by centimes in- 
stead of years, in old Ireland, whose story was 
old when Christianity was born, the people cling 
to the soil through all the tempests of time which 
sweep over the face of the land. They preserve 
their racial characteristics, their pride of birth, 
their traditional glory, their hereditary hate. 
The division of the country into counties adds 
to these tendencies, accentuates the individual. 
A man becomes recognized as the type of a certain 
village or town or county or province by his ap- 
pearance or speech or manners. In these old 
lands, where change comes slowly or not at all, 
the very family is known by the bearing of the in- 
dividual and his actions are anticipated by the 
common knowledge of his family's vices and 
virtues. 

Now, the old countries are growing young and 
in the complexity of life family tradition fades and 
even the most sacred national traditions are 
threatened by scientific investigation. Steam and 
electricity, the automobile and the newspaper, 
have annihilated distance and brought the re- 
mote hamlet into touch with the whole world. 

The early dwellers of Onondaga, however, 
brought to the land of their adoption the habits of 
their native land. Those from the same county 
in Ireland became neighbors here. They looked 
upon men from other countries as they had looked 
upon them at home. Each county had its chief 
families, its own traits, and generally one or more 



Syracuse 97 

expressive nicknames. The chief families had 
character, virtue, or frailty to give reputation to 
their county. They stood for certain qualities, 
which brought them confidence or distrust, al- 
legiance or enmity, as they had deserved for 
generations. One family was famed for piety, 
another for judicial ability, or deep learning, or 
military power. There were those whose word 
was as good as a bond, whose charity was great, 
whose lives were above reproach. There was 
the family of sportsmen, lovers of the chase and 
the game. There were the shrewd, the stingy, the 
selfish, and the shiftless. There were the dis- 
honest, who would steal the cross off of an ass 
or the pennies off a dead man's eyes. There 
were the boasters, who drew the long bow. There 
were those whose blood had the taint of treach- 
ery. 

So the families marked the counties and each 
county had its representatives in Onondaga. Of 
course each admitted no adverse criticism of its 
own people but left them free to find the faults 
or vanities or any traits of the other counties to 
which they could hang a nickname. Often an 
argument was answered, or a boaster silenced, or 
a case summed up, by a wise shake of the head, 
and the quaint utterance of the county's nick- 
name. There were the Far-Downs in the North, 
the Yellow Bellies in Wexford. The Roaring Tips 
from Nenagh were also the Stone-Throwers of 
Tipperary. There were the Fish-Jolters in Water- 



98 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

ford and Cats in Kilkenny. Goat-Milker de- 
scribed the man from Wicklow. County Kerry, 
where the cows are the size of goats, was the 
proper way to treat Kerry pride. There was 
Rebel Cork and Buttermilk Limerick and County 
Mayo, God help us ! 

These expressions were not necessarily offensive 
but might easily become so. They were handy to 
administer when county feeling ran high. Of 
course sensible people frowned upon all this ri- 
valry and avoided it — by choosing their friends 
from their own county, as perhaps they do to-day 
in Onondaga. But in spite of county loyalty they 
all managed to live and work and play and pray 
together. 

In time it became bad manners to ask a man 
from what county he came and the respective 
merits of neighboring clans ceased to be cause of 
war. 

Counties in Ireland 

Ireland is divided into four provinces : Leinster 
in the east, Ulster in the north, Munster in the 
south, and Connaught in the west. These 
provinces are subdivided into thirty-two coun- 
ties : 

Leinster — Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, 
Dublin, Kildare, King's, Queen's, Carlow, Wicklow, 
Wexford, and Kilkenny. 

Ulster — Donegal, Derry, Antrim, Down, Ar- 



Syracuse 99 

magh, Monaghan, Tyrone, Fermanagh, and 
Cavan. 

Munster — Waterford, Tipperary, Clare, Lim- 
erick, Cork, and Kerry. 

Connaught — Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, 
and Galway. 

Thomas Kendrick 

Thomas Kendrick and his brother Dennis came 
to Syracuse in 1835 from Fethard, County Tip- 
perary, Ireland. Thomas Kendrick, Patrick Hall, 
and Edward Farley were stewards in the old 
Syracuse House conducted by Philo Rust. This 
hotel gave many young Irishmen their start in 
life. The work was pleasant and contact with 
the travelling public gave them a certain style 
that appealed to the gentler sex. The stewards as 
a rule were good-looking and well-dressed in those 
days, when the art of dressing had no assistance 
from the ready-made industry. These men were 
sources of information to their countrymen and to 
all travellers by coach or packet-boat. Many of 
the young men left the hotel to enter a business 
of their own, not a few becoming hosts in their 
own hotels. 

Thomas Kendrick became a cartman and re- 
mained in that then lucrative trade until he 
retired. He married Mary, the daughter of 
a Salina pioneer, Thomas Murphy, and after 
her early death took for his second wife Maria 



100 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Degnan, the daughter of Patrick, an eariy settler 
at Split Rock. 

The children of Thomas and Maria Deg- 
nan Kendrick are: James P., Thomas J., 
Dennis, Michael G., Francis B., Mary A., and 
Elizabeth. 

Edward Farley 

Edward Fariey found his first employment in 
Onondaga with Peter McGuire of Salina in 1837. 
He had come from County Cavan, Ireland, while 
his wife, Eliza Kearney, was from Kingston, 
Canada. Edward was active in the Liberty Pole 
razing. 

Edward Farley married Eliza, daughter of 
Patrick and Carmencita Timmons Kearney, and 
their children are: John, who married Mary 
Fitzpatrick, daughter of Daniel and Mary Fo- 
garty Fitzpatrick; Mary, who married James 
Gordon; Patrick; Edward; Charles; Bernard, who 
married Laura B. Smith; Eugene; Catharine and 
one Edward died when infants. 

Francis Conlin 

Francis and Catharine Morgan Conlin came to 
America on their wedding trip in 1832, living for 
a time in Kingston and then going to Syracuse. 
He was a gardener and did much to beautify 
the city by planting trees and shrubs. 



Syracuse loi 

Edward Drake 

Edward, son of William and Julia Brosnahan 
Drake, was bom in Oswego in 1835, and came to 
Syracuse in 1838. Five of their ten children 
were bom in Syracuse. 

Dennis Sullivan 
Mary Sullivan Sullivan 

Dennis Sullivan and his wife, Mary Sullivan 
Sullivan, came to Syracuse from Killarney, County 
Kerry, in 1836. They came here to improve their 
fortunes, leaving behind them the life of the far- 
mer. Dennis found his first work packing salt, 
for which he received the standard price of three 
cents a barrel, earning about seventy-five cents a 
day. After three or four years he was appointed 
sexton of Rose Hill Cemetery, and had charge of 
the "pest" house on Highland Street, where the 
victims of small-pox were housed. Dr. Pease was 
then health officer. For five years he worked as 
sexton and superintendent and then lost his job 
because of the enmity of a man who hated his race 
and did not want an Irishman to be above his 
grave. The man's name, strangely enough, was 
Pope. 

Dennis Sullivan then bought a farm near Split 
Rock and lived there two years. Returning to 
the city he bought a horse and cart and spent 
twenty years in carting. He drove the same 



102 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

horse for the whole period of twenty years, surely 
a record and a proof of his humanity. In this 
business his great friend and crony was Nicholas 
Peters, who afterwards entered the clothing and 
grocery business. In this he went bankrupt, but 
within a few years fulfilled a promise he had made 
to himself by paying one hundred cents on 
every dollar he owed, to the honor of himself 
and in justification of the pride his friends had 
in him. 

While Dennis Sullivan was sexton he bought 
a lot from E. W. Leavenworth and built a house, 
at that time the only one on the block bounded by 
McBride, Catharine, Hickory, and Willow Streets. 
Here came many of the immigrants from Kerry to 
find a temporary home until work was found. 
Here also came a man from Kilkenny, Edward 
Dunfee, the father of John. Here Dennis Sullivan 
kept a tiny farm and sold milk and eggs and vege- 
tables to his neighbors, after he had given up the 
heavy work of carting. 

Over sixty years Dennis and Mary Sullivan 
lived in wedlock. The fiftieth anniversary of 
their marriage was celebrated with great cere- 
mony, both in the Church of St. John the Evangel- 
ist, which they had helped to found and of which 
he was a trustee, and in their home, where their 
five children and their many friends made merry, 
with feast and song. Among the guests was the 
pastor. Father Moriarty, a native of their own 
County Kerry, and a guest of his, Father Sullivan, 



Syracuse 103 

also of Kerry, out on a visit to this country. 
So in the jubilee, when they knelt again within 
the chancel and listened to the jubilee sermon 
of their pastor, the land of their birth was not 
forgotten. 

Dennis Sullivan was a member of Father Mat- 
thew's Temperance Society for forty-five years. 
He was also a charter member of St. Vincent de 
Paul Society, and with it marched in processions 
wearing sashes of green. When he came here, 
there were many Irishmen who owned salt-blocks, 
then worth $10,000 apiece. Those he knew best 
were Gleason, Hayes, Spring, Cooney, Shanahan, 
Farrell, Pendergast, and Doyle. The manu- 
facturer of salt worked in the block, operating 
night and day, and hired men, each to take his 
turn with him in the work. 

The children of Dennis and Mary Sullivan are: 
Ellen; Jeremiah, who married Mary, the daughter 
of Daniel Welch; Cornelius J., who married first 
Margaret, the daughter of John and Margaret 
Tracy, and later Sarah, the daughter of Michael 
and Sarah Grant Fogarty of Holy Cross, Tip- 
perary; Mary, who married Dell Casavand; and 
Dennis. 

Cornelius J. Sullivan was born in Syracuse in 
1848, and educated in old number five school, 
finishing at the age of thirteen. He then worked 
for Robert Townsend for two years, then for Peter 
Cutwater, Patrick Lynch, A. C. Yates, and Mrs. 
C, S. Longstreet. For four years he was brake- 



104 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

man on the N. Y. C, then conductor until the 
strike in 1878, when he entered the employ of 
the D. L. & W. Six months later by an accident 
he lost his right forearm but remained with the 
railroad company until 1883 when he joined 
W. K. Niver in the coal business. Later he 
formed a partnership with Andrew Martin, and 
in 1 89 1 began the business of cement and con- 
tracting, laying many miles of sewer within the 
city. He now conducts the cement business 
alone. 

The children of Cornelius J. and Margaret 
Tracy Sullivan are: Margaret, Charles M., 
William J., Francis, Mary, and Dennis; and the 
children of Cornelius J. and Sarah M. Sullivan 
are: Lawrence D., Mary V., Thomas J., Cor- 
neHus F., Sarah E., Anna M., Katharine M., and 
Agnes L. 

Michael Gleason 

Few men have lived and died in the unchang- 
ing love of their countrymen, but among the few 
was Michael Gleason. To this hour he is re- 
membered with gratitude and love by those who 
knew him, and he was widely known. Some re- 
call his generous hospitahty; others, his kindly 
offices to those in misfortune; others, his loyalty, 
his patriotism, and sterling worth. He was a 
friend in need except to the thief, whom he left 
to his own deserts. For any other sinner or tin- 



Syracuse 105 

fortunate he would cheerfully leave his bed and 
home to answer the appeal for help. For many- 
years he was the leader to whom they looked for 
counsel. His disposition was uniformly mild and 
his judgment sound. Of prepossessing appear- 
ance, good education, and business experience, 
with sufficient worldly goods to make him inde- 
pendent, he became a power among his country- 
men and freed them from petty abuses and trials. 
In one instance he was the actor in a scene which 
stirred the blood of his race and handed down to 
posterity the thrill of the deed though his name 
was forgotten. The story was told at the fireside 
of every Irish family as a tale of prejudice and 
bigotry towards their race. 

Michael Gleason was born in 1799 in Thurles, 
County Tipperary, Ireland. He was a store- 
keeper in Thurles for many years. His wife, 
Mary Neal, died, leaving him one daughter, 
Catharine, born in 1826. He came to Split Rock, 
where he lived for a time, and then went to Syra- 
cuse about the year 1835-36, and was appointed 
an inspector of salt. Within a few years of his 
arrival in this country he returned to Ireland to 
bring over his daughter. She related many 
anecdotes of her father. One will show his love 
of a joke. It was exceptional for a man who 
had left Ireland to return for pleasure or to act 
as escort to other members of his family. Mr. 
Gleason and his daughter were much alike in their 
sense of humor, and enjoyed many a joke at the 



io6 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

expense of their fellow passengers. The daughter 
naturally made friends with the young women of 
her own age on board ship, especially with two 
sisters bound for Philadelphia. They regarded 
her father as a villain because he wore a gold 
watch and chain, and they were convinced that he 
had enticed the young lady away from her home 
and would desert her in America, where he prob- 
ably had a wife and family. They begged her to 
leave him and go with them to their brother. 
But Miss Gleason was carried aboard the packet- 
boat at New York, because she was too ill to 
walk, and she came to Syracuse, where she still 
laughs at the joke of being the runaway bride of 
her father when she was sweet sixteen. 

A Canadian Tragedy 

A few years after Mr. Gleason came to Syracuse 
business of some sort took him to Kingston, 
Canada. With a companion, he arrived there on 
Orangemen's Day, July 12th, about the year 1845. 
The city was decorated, flags flying, soldiers 
marching, and bands playing. His Irish heart 
was on fire and he went and bought a piece of 
green ribbon and pinned it on his breast and on 
that of his companion. They went out into the 
street and without a moment's warning the soldiers 
turned their guns on them and fired. His com- 
panion staggered a few paces and dropped dead. 
Gleason was terribly wounded, a great hole hav- 



Syracuse 107 

ing been torn in his right flank. He was taken 
into the office of a young EngHsh physician, who 
put him in bed and cared for him many weeks. 
He refused to surrender his patient to the law, 
which issued a warrant for his arrest, on the ground 
that he was in mortal danger. For weeks he be- 
friended him and when at last he was sufficiently 
recovered and the law could no longer be delayed, 
the good doctor found a night dark enough to 
ship him home. 

St. Patrick in Effigy on Liberty Pole 

In these days it has become the fashion for all 
classes of people to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. 
Business men decorate their stores with the Stars 
and Stripes and the Green and Gold; banquets 
with decorations of green and other representa- 
tions of Irish sentiment have become a fad. Festi- 
vals are planned yearly by those who claim no 
Irish blood, in honor of the Irish apostle, and 
nearly every one wears a bit of green upon his 
breast in sympathy with the sentiment of the 
day. Fifty years ago the fathers of the present 
generation hung St. Patrick in effigy. 

The Irish aroused the hatred of their neighbors 
in nothing so much as in their religion, and those 
who had crossed the seas to find freedom of 
thought in religion were the first to attempt re- 
striction in the religion of their neighbors. 

The Irish have carried with them to all parts of 



io8 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

the world their veneration of St. Patrick and they 
celebrated in his honor in the marshes and forests 
of Onondaga. As they became more numerous, 
their celebration became more elaborate and the 
hostility of their enemies more bitter. Men to 
whom had been given the highest office of the 
community led the march of jubilation and as 
regularly cut down from some tree the efifigy of 
their saint. An Irishman would open his door in 
the early morning of St. Patrick's Day to find a 
stuffed image swinging aloft. Sometimes it was 
decorated with a necklace of potatoes, to ridicule 
the national dish they had adopted from the land 
of the American Indian. Sometimes a codfish 
would add its ridicule of obedient abstinence on 
Fridays. Sometimes a bottle would protrude in 
mockery of the unfortunate who hoped to drive 
out the dreadful malaria of the swamps by the 
more deadly rum. This hanging in effigy, not 
only of St. Patrick but of any other man, was a 
common event. 

For years and years there had stood on the 
south bank of the Erie Canal at the Salina Street 
crossing a flagstaff, 150 feet high, called the 
Liberty Pole. The Red, White, and Blue was 
thrown to the breeze from this pole during any 
local celebration or national holiday. Michael 
Gleason had been in this country only a few years 
and had already won the respect and confidence 
of his countrymen when St. Patrick in effigy was 
hung at the top of Liberty Pole. The Irish were 



Syracuse 109 

furious. They stormed around and were be- 
side themselves with rage. One fight followed an- 
other between them and others of the crowd. 
They finally sought Gleason for advice. Fol- 
lowed by the angry crowd he went to the village 
fathers and asked them to remove the doubly 
desecrating effigy. They promised to do so but 
apparently were in no hurry, and the Irishmen 
grew more furious every minute. Mr. Gleason 
again sought the officers and they again promised 
but delayed. Three times they were visited and 
asked to remove it and avoid the riot which 
threatened. Returning from the third interview 
Michael Gleason stopped at a hardware store, 
bought an axe, and forcing his way through the 
crowd, calmly chopped down the Liberty Pole. 

Patrick Hall 

Patrick Hall married Catharine Gleason, the 
only daughter of Michael Gleason. Patrick 
seemed to possess the qualities and influence of 
his father-in-law. His store became the meeting 
place of all the Irishmen. He won the adjective 
"handsome" by his dress and physical beauty, 
which must have been exceptional, since beauty 
is a common gift to the Irish race. There is 
much direct testimony of those who were young 
with him that Patrick Hall deserved the "hand- 
some." 

He was bom in the town of Tipperary, Ireland, 



no Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

about 1 817, the son of William and Bridget 
Franklin Hall, and youngest of five children, 
David, William, Catharine, and Bridget. His 
father died when he was very young, and his 
mother brought her five children to this land 
of brighter promise. Patrick worked for many 
years as steward in the old Syracuse House. 
He won the friendship of all, and especially the 
much desired approval of Michael Gleason, whose 
daughter he sought in marriage. These two men 
stood for all that was best for their race in this 
County. They gave the hand of fellowship to 
all who strove for the right. They encouraged the 
young. They kept the latch-string out for those 
less fortunate than themselves. They were the 
centre of the little social life possible in those 
days. 

Patrick Hall started a general store and con- 
ducted it for many years where the West Shore 
Railroad crosses Salina Street. Hither came men 
from the whole countryside to buy and carry home 
their groceries on their shoulders. To carry a 
sack of flour five miles at a stretch was an ordinary 
event. The roads were in bad condition and the 
delivery of goods by the grocer was undreamed 
of. Many truly carried away what they never 
paid for and Patrick Hall trusted them. Men 
found plenty of work to do in the summer but were 
often idle during the whole winter, so the debts 
incurred in the idle months were a constant drain 
on the productive time. The balance was kept 



Syracuse 1 1 1 

when all was well, but sickness or any other loss 
had to be met, and the grocer bore the burden. 
The same conditions exist to-day among certain 
classes of skilled and unskilled labor, but the 
grocers no longer extend unlimited credit. 

The visit to the grocery store was the event of 
the week. Here the men met to buy and visit. 
Barrels of molasses, of oil, of sugar, chests of tea, 
and boxes of all kinds served to accommodate the 
listeners to many a spirited debate. Occasionally 
the store was the arena of a friendly test of 
strength or agility to silence some boaster. 

And through it all these two men, Michael 
Gleason and his son-in-law, Patrick Hall, wielded 
their influence and won for themselves the respect 
and love of their contemporaries, who in turn 
talked to their children until the names of these 
men have become the heritage of their race in the 
country of the Onondagas. 

Catharine Gleason Hall 

Catharine Gleason Hall recalls the "Garry 
Owen " cry in the quarrels of those days. She also 
pays tribute to the memory of Dr. James Foran 
and Dr. Henry Grant, to Mr. John Molloy, a 
lawyer, to Patrick Corbett, Mrs. Ford, and Mrs. 
McGrath, grandmother of Harold. Mrs. Mc- 
Grath was the widow of a Tipperary storekeeper 
and supported herself and son by dressmaking. 
She was very clever and especially witty. 



112 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Mrs. Hall related many anecdotes of the 1840 
period. Many tales are told of those who, har- 
boring a wandering Catholic peddler or tramp, 
sat up all night in fear of treachery, so wide-spread 
was religious prejudice. Mrs. Hall affirms the 
truth of this story : 

A Protestant peddler from Salina found him- 
self in Geddes late in the day. Darkness and a 
violent snow-storm drove him to seek shelter at 
the house of a family named Oliphant, who were 
both Irish and Catholic. The peddler chose the 
dangers within to those without, but spent the 
whole night wide awake in deadly fear. This he 
confessed to his host when later he returned to woo 
a daughter of the house and carry her off in 
marriage. 

Mrs. Hall also speaks of Dennis DriscoU, George 
and Michael Ryan, the undertakers, the latter 
the father of Charles Ryan. They were promi- 
nent Irish gentlemen. She knew also the Mc- 
Carthy family, Lynch, Cooney, Patrick Doyle, 
Moses Summers, William Summers. She speaks 
of the McKevett soldiers. 

The children of Patrick and Catharine Gleason 
Hall are: Mary A., David F., Bridget C, 
Michael, Katharine N., William, Anna, Gertrude, 
and Frank V. Hall. Mary A. married Richard 
L. Hewitt, and their children are: Bernard H., 
William P. H., Anna B., Katharine N., Mary 
Florence, and Gertrude R, David F. married 
first Emma Tipplon, and later Mary Schug 



Syracuse 113 

Feldsmith. Bridget C. married Edward L. 
Monen of Oswego, and had one child, Jessie. 

Petty Abuses 

Besides the occasions for strife common to all 
the pioneers of Onondaga, the Irish had their own 
special causes. Every pioneer Irishman has told 
the same story of opposition in his efforts to earn 
a living, of insult and intolerance in his religious 
practices, and humiliation and petty tyranny in 
his social relations. They had come to this 
country, bringing with them the pride of race 
which centuries of tyranny had not broken. They 
brought a social purity unequalled by any nation. 
They had health and strength and virtue and wit. 
They came as sons and daughters of their father's 
house. Fortune had failed them and they found it 
easier to toil among strangers in the land of op- 
portunity than under the altered conditions of 
home. Some had money and established them- 
selves. Those who had only their labor to offer, 
found the farm and the kitchen. They worked 
for those as little accustomed to command as 
they themselves were to serve. Generally both 
adapted themselves to the conditions, but there 
were not wanting the exceptions who provoked 
resentment by petty persecutions. The hin- 
drance placed on church attendance, the taunting 
slanders, the scanty food on every day but 
Friday, when it was prohibited, the mockery of 
their patron saints, and other petty measures could 



114 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

not fail in their very meanness to arouse the gen- 
erous Irish heart. But these things passed, and 
the petty persecutor vanished in the broadening 
Hght of better days. When the great tide of im- 
migration set in, pubHc opinion was in control 
and the Irish immigrant's struggle for justice had 
been practically won. 

James Haley 

Circumstances which forced youth to leave its 
native land gave birth to chance which separated 
the members of a family. James and Anthony 
Haley turned to America while their brother Mar- 
tin established himself in England. James and 
his wife, Ann Murphy, came to Quebec from Cross 
MuUina, County Mayo, about 1837, reaching 
Syracuse the same year. He worked for Joseph 
Savage in the salt works and then in the quarries 
at Split Rock. About 1846 he and a friend, 
Patrick Haley, leased land from the Indians at 
Onondaga, but in less than a year James died of 
some intestinal disease, epidemic at that time. 
His wife with her five little children came to 
Syracuse to live on North Geddes Street. Friends 
tried to persuade the mother to part with her 
children for a time that they might grow up in 
farmers' families according to the custom of those 
days. The mother resisted all influence and kept 
her children together, as many a mother did with 
heart courageous and faith unshaken. 



Syracuse 115 

The children of James and Ann Haley are 
Martin, who married Elizabeth Welch, Mary, 
Anthony J,, James, and Ann, who married Pat- 
rick Toomey. 

Anthony J. Haley was born in Syracuse in 1842, 
attended old No. 4 School, and found his first 
work in the salt industry. He worked in the mills 
at Lodi and Rome, making rails. In 1870 he 
was appointed on the police force and served until 
his retirement in 1907. The law requires that 
an officer shall retire at the age of 65 years, if he 
has completed twenty years' service, regardless of 
a man's physical condition or ability for further 
service. Officer Haley found pleasure and in- 
formation in the pursuit of his duty. He learned 
from the Italian and the Greek and the Slav the 
common expressions of their languages. 

Anthony Haley married Margaret, the daughter 
of Mark and Margaret Garrity McGrath of 
County Fermanagh. 

With James Haley aboard ship bound for 
America were two others who came to Syracuse — 
Owen Gallagher and John C. Manley. 

Michael Ryan 



Michael Ryan was born in Syracuse in 1839. 
With his elder brother John he formed the firm, 
Ryan Brothers, undertakers, widely known 
throughout the State. 



ii6 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Thomas Molloy 

Thomas Molloy came from West Meath in 1836 
and to Syracuse the next year. He married Anne 
Murphy of County Clare. 

Several Irish families, numerous and prosperous 
in the County and intermarried with many other 
families, lack their own family chronicles. 

Patrick J. Johnson 

Patrick J. Johnson, for many years manager 
of the Onondaga Salt Company, is the son of 
Thomas and Anastasia Phalen Johnson, who 
emigrated from Ireland to America in 1832. 

Thomas Quigley 

On the Tipperary end of the Killaloe bridge 
John McNamara and his wife, Mary Flannery 
McNamara, lived in their hotel with their little 
children. Near by was a school to which came 
Thomas, the son of Thomas and Catharine 
O'Brien Quigley of Town Lock, four miles dis- 
tant from Ballina. One day young Thomas, in 
temporary charge of some lambs, met the little 
daughter of the hotel -keeper, Julia, grand- 
daughter and namesake of Julia St. Leger. Julia 
could not resist the impulse to reach the- soft coats 
of the lambs to pat them and was sharply chided 
by her nurse. "Don't scold the little girl," said 
Thomas and thus won the heart of the child who 



Syracuse 117 

afterwards became his wife. They married young 
and came to America on their wedding trip, land- 
ing at Quebec in 1840, and then travelling to 
Newburgh. The next year they came to Syra- 
cuse on the packet-boat. 

Thomas Quigley soon learned that the success- 
ful men were those who had a trade, so he be- 
gan to work as a boiler-maker and followed the 
trade for more than thirty-five years in the employ 
of the New York Central. He had worked on 
steamboats and on the Auburn railroad rivet- 
ing the rails. In 1850 he was a volunteer fire- 
man in a company called No. 8, the majority of 
whose members were employees of the N. Y. 
Central. 

He built the first house on Otisco Street, where 
he had bought eight lots for eight hundred dol- 
lars, afterwards selling one of these for the price 
he had paid for eight. This property he be- 
lieved gave him the opportunity to educate his 
family in books and in trades. Each of his 
children had this double advantage. 

Thomas Quigley located first on the southeast 
corner of West and TuUy Streets. On the op- 
posite side were the salt covers. On the north- 
west comer lived the family of Bourke. Here was 
born William Bourke, the first American to be- 
come a priest in the County. On the same day 
John Quigley and Thomas Bourke were born on 
opposite comers. 

Thomas Quigley was the grandson of Mary 



ii8 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Seymour. He was quiet and studious in his 
habits and gave his services freely to those whose 
education had been neglected. He wrote their 
letters and read to them the daily news. His 
listeners often showed remarkable memories, re- 
taining for many years a newspaper account that 
had been read to them once. 

Patrick Quigley came to America sometime after 
his brother Thomas. He was a stone mason by 
trade but enlisted in the regular army at West 
Point and became a sergeant. He helped to build 
some of the walls of the garrison. Ulysses Grant 
was then a cadet there. 

The children of Thomas and Julia McNamara 
Quigley are: Catharine, Mary, Martin, John J., 
Thomas W., Patrick, Simon, Julia E., and Agnes. 

Catharine Quigley married Charles J. Ryan, the 
son of Edwin and Catharine Sweeny Ryan from 
Tipperary. Their children are: Edward J., T. 
Francis, Charles R., Mary Agnes, Julia Elizabeth, 
Katharine Estella, Leonard A., and Bertha. 

Thomas W. Quigley 

Thomas W. Quigley went to the public schools 
of Syracuse and spent his vacations heating rivets 
in a boiler shop. The work attracted him and in 
time he learned the trade. He attended Foote's 
Academy, and was, a book-keeper for two years. 
He joined the police force in 1878 as patrolman, 
resigned after four years, but the next year was 



Syracuse 119 

reappointed as captain, which office he still holds. 
When the captain was yet a boy, there was a rink 
and pleasure resort where the Armory stands. 
Kelly, a railroad watchman, was in charge. He 
whipped the boys with a cane instead of arrest- 
ing them, but he was partial to Thomas, whom he 
liked. One night at the rink a watch was stolen, 
and the watchman was getting the worst of it 
in his battle with the thief. Young Thomas came 
to help his friend and soon after was appointed 
officer at the rink. He remained there during the 
season and so began his career as guardian of 
the public peace. He worked for several years 
after at his trade of boiler maker, but always felt 
the attraction to the department of police, in 
which he has served over thirty years. 

Thomas W. Quigley married Mary, daughter of 
Patrick and Katharine King Murphy, of County 
Louth. Their children are: Thomas W., Jr., 
and Katharine Julia. 

Martin Quigley married first Mary Rosenberg 
and they had one son, John T. Later he married 
Mary Kippley, and their son is Martin C. 

Patrick Quigley married first Mary Foy and 
later Anna Walch. 

Agnes Quigley married Carl C. Barnes. 

Patrick H. Agan 

Patrick H, Agan was one of the wisest of the 
city fathers. Born at Watertown in 1817, an 
orphan at nine years, he came to Liverpool in 



120 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

1837 to work for his brother-in-law Sampson 
Jaqueth, a salt manufacturer. He was political 
editor of the Standard for over twenty years, a 
clear and concise writer. He was postmaster, and 
was largely instrumental in the creation of the 
Adirondack State Park and other measures for 
the public good. 

Peter Burns 

Peter, only child of David and Mary Dempsey 
Burns, was bom in Dublin in 1814. Five years 
later, his mother having died, he went with his 
father to America. His childhood years were 
spent successively in a French and a Dutch 
family. He learned their languages and read the 
pages of human nature and the few books avail- 
able. He was apprenticed to the saddlery trade, 
and in 1840, at the age of twenty-six, entered 
Onondaga Academy, and in two years obtained a 
teacher's diploma. However, he preferred a 
commercial career, which led him into extensive 
fields and extensive charities. 

In 1850 he married Elizabeth, daughter of 
Joshua and Jane Phillips Bates. Their children 
are Willis B., who married Sannie Davis, and 
Flora E., who married Lyman C. Smith. 

Willis B. Burns 
Willis B. Bums followed his father in beginning 



Syracuse 121 

at the age of seventeen the saddlery trade. He 
served in the city council, was mayor on the Re- 
publican ticket, and was elected to the Legis- 
lature, where he acted on various committees. 

Moses Summers 

The achievements of Moses Summers in the de- 
velopment of the newspaper in Onondaga, as 
well as his record in war, have been already in- 
scribed on the pages of history. He was born 
in County Wexford, January i, 1819, to Thomas 
and Elizabeth Summers and came with them 
to America when he was six months old. His 
father was a stone mason and worked at his trade 
in the construction of the Erie Canal, moving as 
the work progressed to Utica, Rochester, Lock- 
port, and Buffalo, then to Oswego, where he died 
of cholera in 1832. Four children survived him: 
Moses, William, Peter, and Mary. 

In 1835 Moses Summers, then sixteen years of 
age, apprenticed himself to the printer's trade on 
the Free Press of Oswego, and later on the Pal- 
ladium. In 1 84 1 he came to Syracuse to work on 
the Onondaga Standard. As a volunteer fire- 
man he witnessed the scene of the explosion of 
that year. 

In 1845, he bought an interest in the Standard, 
and later his brother William joined him in owner- 
ship and general management. 

Moses Summers served once as alderman. He 



122 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

was active in the Jerry Rescue. In 1862 he en- 
Hsted in the 149th Regiment as quartermaster, 
and served in all its battles. He marched to the 
sea with Sherman, and was one of the first to 
enter Savannah. By an order of Major-General 
John W. Geary he seized the printing material of 
the city, collected it in one office, and to the sur- 
' prise of all, on the next day issued a paper. The 
Loyal Georgian, and retained control of it for several 
months. He was in the review at Washington, 
and received a commission as Brevet-Major. 
He held many other commissions. Returning 
to Syracuse, he again took up his work on the 
Standard until he became a member of the Board 
of Port Wardens in New York in 1880. 

Moses Summers married first Harriet Hunt and 
later Mrs. Davis. He had no children. 

William Summers was also a printer and owner 
of a newspaper before he entered partnership 
with his brother. He married Annie E. Donovan, 
and they have three children: William, Thomas 
H., and May E. 

Hugh Rogers 

Hugh Rogers lived on the towpath of the Erie 
near Franklin Street before 1840. His name ap- 
pears in the list of wounded in the gunpowder ex- 
plosion. He kept a boarding house and received 
many of his fellow countrymen, who held him in 
high esteem. He became a landowner and ac- 



Syracuse 123 

cumulated money. His first wife was Bridget, 
his second Catharine. He had one son, John, and 
three daughters: Anne, who married John Bo- 
land, Sarah, who married Patrick Pendergast of 
Salina, and Catharine. 

The names of Hugh Rogers and David Hall, 
are signed to the document of organization of 
the first parish in Syracuse July 11, 1841.^ John 
Murphy and William F. Byrne were among the 
trustees. ^ 

Residents of the Old Third Ward 

Some residents of the old Third Ward about 1840 
and a few years later were : John Bigley, Captain 
Berrigan, Brennan, James Clary, who kept a hard- 
ware store, Patrick Cummings, a builder, Coogan, 
Matthew Dolphin, John Dolphin, Patrick Dol- 
phin, Philip Deady, Hugh Gallagher, Farrell 
Gallagher, Patrick Gere, Griffin, the blacksmith, 
Paul Hart, Charles Manahan, alderman, Thomas 
Maloney (Quinlan and Maloney), Michael C. 
Murphy, Michael Meagher, who was engaged in 
the salt works, Thomas Meagher, and his sons, 
William and James, James McCullough, and 
John Morrisey. Patrick McCarthy was the first 
librarian and his son William succeeded him in 
that office. There were, too, Daniel O'Herin, 
and his wife Honora Welch; Michael O'Connell, 
and his son Patrick and his sister Kate; David 

' W. P. H. Hewitt. » Ibid. 



124 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Quinlan and his wife Mary McCabe; Rogers, the 
shoemaker; Matthew, John, and Margaret Rogers; 
Lawrence Ryan, and Jeremiah Sullivan. 

Residents of the Old Seventh Ward 

Some residents of the old Seventh Ward about 
1847 and a few years later were: John Barry, 
John Beatson, James Buckley, John Brown, 
William Brennan, Martin Berry, John Cullen, 
John Caffray, Timothy Curtin, Anthony Caul- 
field, Patrick Caul field, Thomas Costello and his 
wife Honora, James Cahill and Thomas Cahil] ; 
Daniel, William, Hugh, and John Doherty; Martin 
Dillon, Morgan Dunn, Granny Feaney, a mid- 
wife; John and James Feaney, William Farrell, 
Owen Gallagher, John Gallagher, Mrs. Gere, Jesse 
Gallavan, Michael Giblin, Patrick Griffin, John 
Griffin, Maurice Griffin, John Heffron, Anthony 

Jennings, Joyce, Patrick Kennedy, Patrick 

Kelley, and his sons Patrick, Andrew, James, and 
Anthony; William Leamy, Richard Leamy, Ed- 
ward Lewis, Thomas Lewis, John Lewis, Michael 

Lally, Leahy, Daniel Lynch, John Murray, 

Patrick Mangan. The children of the last named 
are John, Bernard, Michael, Martin, and Bridget. 
Other residents were John C. Manley, Malay, 
Maurice Mead, James Mead, Michael Mee- 
han, Patrick Murphy, John Moran, James Mc- 
Lean, James McCormick, Thomas McLaughlin, 
Stephen Nicholson and his wife Bridget Kearney, 



Syracuse 125 

Richard Newton, William Nicholson, William 
Nicholson, the tailor; Matthew O'Brien, Michael 
O'Brien, Patrick Phalen, Daniel Phalen, John 
Quinn, Jeremiah Quinn, Dominick Rafferty, 
Andrew Ready, Patrick Ready, Michael Reddin, 

Ryan, Bernard (Brian) Sheridan, Maurice 

Shea, Patrick Stanton, Roger Tyrrell, Martin 
Whalen. 

Francis Bourke 

Francis Bourke was born in Tipperary at Nine 
Mile House, a hotel, then owned by his father and 
still conducted by the family. He came to Syra- 
cuse about 1842, and two years later came Jo- 
anna Welch and her sister from Kilkenny, and 
therein is a romance, for Francis and Joanna were 
betrothed in Ireland. They were soon married and 
to them were born six children, William J., Thomas 
F., Joseph P., Nora A., Francis J., and Hannie L. 

William J. Bourke was the first American born 
in Onondaga to become a priest. He was born in 
Syracuse June i, 1846. He served at the altar in 
the Church of St. John the Evangelist, studied at 
Niagara, and was ordained at Troy. After vari- 
ous missions he was appointed pastor of St. John 
the Baptist Church. Few priests have been more 
beloved than this young man, who labored and 
lived and died for his people. 

Edward Dunfee 

Edward Dunfee came from Kilkenny to Syra- 



126 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

cuse perhaps as early as 1840. He married Julia 
Hoolihan, and their son, John, was born in 1851, 
and through almost incredible hardships forced his 
way to success. 

Peter Lawrence Ryan 

Peter Lawrence Ryan is the son of Lawrence, 
who came to Syracuse in 1842, and who married 
Bridget Howard. He married Ada C, daughter of 
Asa C. Fyler, and descendant of a Revolutionary 
soldier, who came to Split Rock about 1800. 

George Doheny 

George Doheny was born in Syracuse in 1844, the 
youngest child of Edward and Mary Doheny, who 
came from Ireland in 1840, from County Tipper- 
ary. Edward Doheny bought land on Geddes 
Street between Marcellus and Otisco Streets and 
extending to Harbor Brook. The gravel and sand 
proved valuable and became a bountiful source of 
revenue to its owner. 

The children of Edward and Mary Doheny are 
Mary Doheny Cummings; Bridget Doheny Ca- 
ples; Timothy; James; and George, who entered 
the legal profession, in which under the partner- 
ship of Hiscock, Doheny and Hiscock, and other 
firms, he has practised more than forty years. 
For some years he has been president of the Syra- 
cuse Savings Bank. 



Syracuse 127 

Thomas Griffin 

Welcome as a mother's arms to a sick child is 
his native land to the suffering man. In his ill- 
ness exile becomes a distressing circumstance. 
Thomas Griffin and his wife, Ellen Lynch, and 
their nine children came to Syracuse from Tralee, 
County Kerry, in 1846. After several years 
Thomas fell sick, and in his misery vowed a vow 
that he would return to the land of his fathers. 
He kept his vow in 1852 but, later, returned to 
Syracuse with children and grandchildren. Two 
sons, John and James, remained in Liverpool, 
England, one son, Thomas, went South. His 
daughter Mary married John, son of John and 
Margaret Gallavan McDonald of Tralee, and came 
with him to Syracuse. The other children who 
reached maturity are Bridget, Michael, and Ellen. 

Thomas Griffin was a grocer in Tralee, but here 
he engaged in the clothing business at the corner of 
Clinton and Water Streets. Some of his patron- 
age was from travellers on the packet-boat. 

One day two Irish boys boimd for the west were 
put ashore at the packet-dock to die victims of 
ship fever. Father Heas came to administer the 
last rites of the Church. There was no shelter 
for the unfortunates, for no one dared to receive 
them. Thomas McManus as messenger for the 
priest found Thomas Griffin ready to construct a 
shed in the rear of his premises for the reception 
of the dying youths. 



128 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 
Matthew Geagan 

A blacksmith shop in a young community is 
always a centre of activity and the smith is very 
likely to be a man of sterling worth. Such was 
Matthew Geagan, who came to Syracuse, to the old 
Fourth Ward, before it had fully emerged from the 
wilderness, about 1842. He was the son of Ed- 
ward and Catharine D'Arcy Geagan of Kildare, 
and he had one brother John. 

Matthew fell in love and energetically wooed 
and won beautiful Margaret Gray, seventeen years 
old. They spent most of the years of their long 
union in the old home in Burnet Avenue. Mar- 
garet was the daughter of James and Margaret 
Gray of the Parish of Drumard, County Longford. 
Among the visitors to the young bride and matron 
were the Indians. They entered without cere- 
mony, helped themselves to what they wanted, 
and did not hesitate to ask for food stuffs they 
might happen to need. They brought often great 
baskets of berries to sell and other baskets and 
bead-work. Squaws wore skirt and shawl. The 
braves occasionally took a nap under the side- 
walk, which was built a foot or more above the 
level of the swampy soil. 

DOMINICK RaFFERTY 

Dominick Rafferty spent his first year in Amer- 
ica in Syracuse, going then to Canada for several 



Syracuse 129 

years and returning to make his permanent home 
in the old Seventh Ward. He was born in Balla, 
County Mayo, and married first Margaret Far- 
rell from his own parish. His second wife was 
Mary Hughes, a native of Balla, who moved to 
Lancaster, England, with her parents when a 
child, coming to Syracuse in 1859. 

James Augustus McCormick 

James Augustus McCormick was born in Syra- 
cuse in 1852, son of Thomas and Mary Matthews 
McCormick. He struggled to obtain an educa- 
tion, entered the legal profession, and eventually, 
as deputy-attorney for the general land office at 
Washington, travelled extensively through the 
United States. 

His grandfather came to Syracuse from County 
Louth in 1845, his father Thomas going to Phila- 
delphia and later to Syracuse. 

Timothy Fleming 

Timothy Fleming and his wife, Winifred Rogers, 
came to Syracuse from Balloughaderean, County 
Mayo. He had been a drayman in Ireland, 
travelling from his home to Dublin, but here he 
was a mason. His children are Patrick, Thomas, 
Michael, William, John, James, Mary Ann, and 
Winifred. 

Thomas served in the 3d N. Y. Light Cavalry 
in the Civil War. 



130 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 
William Cassidy 

From Clonbulloge, Queen's County, Ireland, 
came William and Michael Cassidy about the 
year 1845. They were the sons of John and 
Catharine Conners Cassidy. William went to 
work as meat-cutter for Stephen Bastable and 
after a few years became foreman in the salt mill 
conducted by J. W. Barker & Co., for the rest of 
his life, over forty years. 

He married Mary, the daughter of John and 
Johanna Barry of Cloyne, County Cork. John 
Barry was captain of a sailing vessel. After his 
death, his wife brought their six sons and two 
daughters and a bag of sovereigns to Syracuse. 
The children were Patrick, William, John, Richard, 
Daniel, James, Margaret, and the infant Mary. 
With them came Peter, Edward, and Mary 
Pendergast, James O'Herin, and others, mak- 
ing a party of twenty-eight under the leadership 
of Johanna Barry. She saw her children grow up 
and branch out into various parts of the Union. 
Like every Irish mother she had the pain and the 
wounded pride when her children labored as this 
country requires that all shall labor, as Europe 
does not. 

William Cassidy and his wife Mary in 1850 
reared their roof-tree on Plum Street, where it 
still shelters their children. The elm trees they 
set at their gate still throw long shadows to their 
door. For years their home was open to their 



Syracuse 131 

countrymen newly arrived with their hair-trunks 
and feather beds and their vivid tales of the old 
country. Many of them found work in the salt 
industry. 

The children of William and Mary Barry Cas- 
sidy are Stephen J., who married Rebecca Brash; 
John J., whose first wife was Mary Demong^ 
and whose second was Catharine Ryan; William 
S., who married Ellen Cawley; James and his 
twin, Kate, who married John R. Hirsch; Mary 
Ellen, Harvey B., Rose; Christopher J., who mar- 
ried Lulu Burroughs; Agnes, who married Thomas 
D. Callahan; Elizabeth, Frances, Mina, and one 
infant, who died young. 

Patrick McLaughlin 

Patrick McLaughlin was the first to cultivate 
the land on which the old Adams School was after- 
wards built. He came to Syracuse from Marcel- 
lus, where he had lived on the Doctor Plant farm 
after his arrival from Achill, County Mayo, in 
1840. Patrick had been a constable in Ireland. 
He married Mary Masterson and they brought 
their three sons and three daughters with them to 
Marcellus, where their youngest child, Anne, was 
born in 1844. Their oldest son, Thomas, served 
in the Mexican War, was wounded, and put in a 
hospital in the City of Mexico. During convales- 
cence he was walking about when a Mexican 
stabbed him to death. 



132 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Another son, Patrick, served in the Civil War 
with the army in Tennessee. He was returning 
home on furlough when he met death by drown- 
ing. 

Their daughter Mary married James Mc- 
Laughlin, and their son Edward represented the 
ward in the Common Council for several years. 

The other children were John; Catharine, who 
married Martin Berry; Bridget, who married 
Michael Murray. 

Anne married Joseph, the son of Owen and 
Mary O'Laughlin Bannon. 

Joseph Bannon 

Joseph Bannon came from Castlewellan, County 
Down, Ireland, in 1849. He became a peddler 
travelling through Central New York for several 
years. There was not much money in circulation 
and some of that was counterfeit, so Joseph be- 
came a cigar maker and travelled to sell his wares. 
He thus widened his acquaintance and estab- 
lished a friendship with others of his name in other 
counties. The Bannon family is not numerous, 
being a subdivision of a larger clan. Northern 
Tipperary is the home of one family, but Joseph 
was of the North, the son of Owen and Mary 
O'Laughlin Bannon. He married Anne, the 
daughter of Patrick and Mary Masterson Mc- 
Laughlin, and their children are: Bernard A., 
who married Anne, the daughter of John and 



Syracuse 133 

Margaret O'Meara O'Brien of Syracuse; and 
Joseph F., who married Tatiana, the daughter of 
James and Joanna Doyle McDonald. 

Thomas Connolly 

Thomas Connolly was the second postman ap- 
pointed in Syracuse, and his son and grandson 
chose the same field of work, Thomas came in 
1845 from Cashel, County Tipperary, where he 
had been a shoemaker. He worked at his trade in 
this country until his appointment as carrier of 
letters throughout the city. He collected two 
cents for each letter delivered. 

He was one of only a dozen Irishmen in the 
County who joined the Republican party at its 
birth in 1856. Michael Gleason was active in the 
party. 

Thomas Connolly married Catharine Kelley, and 
their children are John F. Connolly of Washing- 
ton, D. C, who married Anna Holger; Jerry R., 
who married Margaret F. Tehan ; Hugh, who mar- 
ried Mary Tracy; Anna R., Thomas, and Pierce. 

On shipboard with Thomas Connolly was an- 
other passenger bound for Syracuse and destined 
to become the mother of the well-beloved Father 
William Bourke. William Tracy came to America 
and Syracuse about the same year. 

John Ryan 
The Gaelic revival of recent years serves to 



134 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

recall how few of Ireland's children found ex- 
pression in their mother tongue alone. Most of 
them knew enough English for the practical pur- 
poses of a strange land, while their hearts fed upon 
the language of their inheritance in the days of 
their exile. 

John Ryan had a master's knowledge of both 
tongues. As clerk and assistant to his uncle in 
the grain business in Fermoy, County Cork, he 
also acquired a training in business put to use 
in Onondaga. Here in 1846 he went to work in 
the salt mill of Captain William Porter of Salina. 
In 1863 he moved to Syracuse and formed a part- 
nership in flour and feed business with William 
H. Gere. After ten years he returned to the salt 
industry in the wholesale branch, later combining 
with it the flour and feed business, in which he 
remained for many years. 

John Ryan was an untiring student. Languages 
and mathematics were of special interest to him. 
Current events claimed his attention and, in the 
dark months when he suffered from a malady of 
the eyes, his young children read to him in order 
to satisfy his inquiring mind. Short of stature, 
he was athletic — a fine swimmer, an expert player 
of hand-ball, and a member of the volunteer fire- 
men company. 

He was the son of Thomas and Catharine 
Cronin Ryan, who came to Salina in 1847 
with their other children: Honora, who married 
Robert Barry; John; Johanna, who married 



Syracuse 135 

James O'Neill; Thomas, and Mary, who became 
a nun. 

John Ryan married Catharine, the daughter of 
Redmond and Mary Hennessy McGrath of Kill- 
worth, County Cork. The name is often spelled 
McGraw and McCraith. Their children are: 
Mary, William; Edward, who married Elizabeth, 
daughter of Michael J. and Mary Ryan Lawless; 
Catharine, who married John Cassidy; Ellen and 
Frances. 

John McGrath, a brother of Catharine, served in 
the 149th Regiment N. Y. Vols., and after the war 
gave his arms to the Fenians. 

Edward Ryan 

Edward Ryan was bom in Syracuse and re- 
ceived his education in the public schools. At an 
early age he engaged in the hardware business and 
later in the clothing business. He has always 
taken an active interest in city affairs, serv- 
ing under both Republican and Democratic 
administrations as Fire Commissioner, Health 
Commissioner, Police Commissioner, and Deputy 
Commissioner of Public Safety. Meanwhile he 
has been identified for many years with the Ca- 
tholic Mutual Benefit Association which he has 
served as Branch President, Law Commissioner of 
the Grand Council of N. Y. State, Vice-President, 
and then President of the Grand Council, and now 
Grand Secretary. He is a charter member of the 



136 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

first branch of the Ancient Order of Hibernians 
organized in 1886 in this County. He married 
EHzabeth Lawless, and has one son, Michael 
Lawless Ryan, now a student in medicine. 

C. M. B. A. 

It would be difficult to estimate the benefits 
that the C. M. B. A. has brought to its members 
and their families. Organized at Niagara Falls 
in 1876 by a few men of modest means — business 
and professional men, clerks and laborers — it of- 
fered life insurance to the poor, who could not 
enter the expensive field of the old line companies. 
How the association prospered is well known, but 
its far-reaching influence can only be imagined. 
Before that time, when the wage earner in his 
hazardous employment met an untimely death, 
the fate of wife and children or other dependents 
was pitiable indeed. The small insurance of 
the C. M. B. A. paid off many a mortgage from 
the little home and gave the widows and orphans a 
breathing space to adjust themselves to the new 
order of things. It gave them also the assistance 
of men of the association to steer them safely 
in the unknown sea of business life. Chapters 
could be written of the thousand emergencies it 
met and not one word to show a triumph of the 
mercenary over the charitable. 

Lawrence Byrne 
In the parish of Leighlin in County Carlow 



Syracuse 137 

lived Thomas Byrne and his wife, Margaret 
Brennan, and their seven sons, and one daugh- 
ter: John, Lawrence, Charles, Thomas, Terence, 
William, Ellen, and Peter Vincent. Lawrence 
was the first to leave his home to join an uncle in 
America in 1848. The next year he came to 
Syracuse, and worked for Patrick Molloy for the 
succeeding three years. He then bought a farm 
in Lafayette through which the railroad had an 
option for right of way. At his house Mass was 
celebrated for the first time in that section, al- 
though there is a tradition that Mass had once 
been said under the spreading branches of an ap- 
ple tree. Before that time Lawrence and his 
brothers frequently walked to Syracuse to attend 
St. Mary's Church, and walked back to Lafayette 
after Mass. Many other Irish men and women 
practiced the exercises of their faith under the 
same difficulties. The Byrne family was remark- 
able for its fervor and loyalty to Mother Church. 
Peter Vincent Byrne entered the priesthood in 
the Congregation of Missions, and is now the Very 
Reverend in that order in St. Louis. John Vin- 
cent Byrne, son of Lawrence, obtained a master's 
degree at Niagara University, and entered the 
priesthood. Law, medicine, and teaching have 
called other members of the family. 

Lawrence Byrne married Jane McGurn and 
their children are: Margaret, who married 
Michael Horan; Bridget; Ellen, who married 
John Byrne; Mary, who became a nun; Eliza- 



138 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

beth, Sarah, Patrick, Michael, and Rev. John 
Vincent. 

Charles Byrne married Margaret, daughter of 
Edward and Mary Kennedy Burke. Their 
children are: Dr. Patrick J., who married Ellen 
M. Halligan; Mary F., Margaret E.; Ellen, who 
married Maurice F. Lane; Edward; Peter, who 
married Minnie Lynch; Anna J., Cecilia L, 
Francis, and Charles Vincent. 

Ellen Byrne married Patrick Foley. Their 
children are: Margaret, Mary, John, Patrick, 
Peter, Agnes, and Kate. 

William Byrne remained in Ireland. 

The Very Reverend Peter Vincent Byrne and 
the late Monsignor John Joseph Kennedy started 
together from home to college, forming a close 
and constant friendship through all the years of 
their labors. 

Patrick Griffin 

Patrick GrifKn left his home in Ballylangfort, 
County Kerry, to board a man-of-war, the 
Rodney, in 1846. With 11 00 men it sailed the 
Mediterranean, stopping at many ports, on to 
Alexandria. One day they passed a vessel bear- 
ing Pope Pius the Ninth and gave him the royal 
salute of twenty-one guns. Returning to the At- 
lantic, the cruise was along the west coast of 
Africa to Cape of Good Hope and thence to Ports- 
mouth. Here Patrick was paid off for two years 
and nine months of service and with the money 



Syracuse 139 

came to America. First he revisited his home and 
saw the dreadful effects of the famine. Many of 
his friends were dead. 

In Syracuse he for the first time in his life was 
sick. The prevalent fever and ague quenched his 
desire for further travel. His first work was as 
porter in the Brintnell Hotel. There were then 
only two houses on Onondaga Street and one or 
two on Fayette and nothing but swamp and fields 
between the two streets. 

All the young Irish people knew each other and 
visited together. They found friends among their 
own people whose names are ever on their lips — 
Michael Gleason, Dennis Hunt. They had other 
friends, James Randall, of French and English 
parentage, and Henry Foster, who stood for 
justice to the immigrant in a strange land. 

Nicholas Downes 

Nicholas Downes declares (March 18, 1909) 
that the National Guards were organized in 
Syracuse in 1850 by Irishmen to protect themselves 
on St. Patrick's Day during their parade. It was 
a military organization and received its arms 
from the State and responded to the State's call, 
when needed to quell disturbance of any kind. So 
the enemies of the Irish feared to molest the 
State military men on the seventeenth of March. 
Men of other nations were members in the minor- 
ity, and the Citizens' Corps, another military com- 



140 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

pany, often joined them in parade. The first 
captains of the National Guards were Edward 
Pendergast, Nicholas Downes, John Radigan, 
Dennis DriscoU, and Timothy Sullivan. It be- 
came Company C of the Twelfth Regiment, N. Y. 
Vol. Infantry, with Dennis Driscoll, Captain. 

Nicholas Downes was the son of Michael and 
Ann Downes Downes, and was born January i, 
1820, being now nearly ninety years old and blush- 
ing with embarrassment when he is reminded that 
the members of the National Guards were con- 
sidered very handsome and gallant young fel- 
lows. He was born near historic Tara in County 
Meath. His great-grandfather and an English 
official in Ireland having the same name, Downes, 
the Irishman was frequently called upon to dis- 
claim any English blood in his veins. He lived 
within the Pale at Trim, whence the Irish had 
been driven and were forbidden to return. The 
Pale was the residence of the English, and if an 
Englishwoman married an Irishman, she was 
drummed out and driven beyond the Pale. 
Downes never knew why he was permitted to re- 
main nor could his friends discover the reason. 
They knew that Downes was Irish, not only from 
his own assertions but from the traditions of the 
family. In Ireland a mixture with foreign blood 
is remembered for generations, especially in the 
country districts, and there is no memory of Eng- 
lish mixture with this Downes family. 

Michael Downes, the father of Nicholas, and 



Syracuse 141 

his two brothers were in the rebellion of 1798, while 
their mother, in the secrecy of a cave on the farm, 
baked bread for her soldier sons. Two were 
killed and Michael escaped the penalty of re- 
bellion by binding himself to the weaver's trade. 
He became a farmer later, and influenced by Pat- 
rick Reynolds, who had located in Carthage, N. Y., 
Michael and his family emigrated to America in 
1832. They came on the Stephen Wright from 
Dublin to Quebec in six weeks and three days, 
hitting an iceberg on the way at Newfoundland. 
Carthage was their destination, but they first went 
to Montreal, then to Ottawa, and finally located 
in Watertown. Here Nicholas attended the In- 
stitute and became a schoolmaster, teaching in 
Oswego, Watertown, and Brownville, coming to 
Syracuse about 1846. At that time the great 
question of the day was the name of the city, 
Syracuse or Salina, the latter urging its superiority 
in drainage as compared with the flooded streets 
of its rival. Nicholas became clerk and book- 
keeper in the hardware store of John and Matthew 
Murphy and about i860 formed the partnership of 
McCarthy, Radigan, and Downes, continuing it 
twenty years. He then travelled through the 
United States with a patent filter of his own design 
until he retired. He saw the introduction of 
stoves for coal into this region and the passing 
of the sheet-iron variety. He married Mary, 
the daughter of John Stapleton, and they have 
one adopted son. 



142 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 
Patrick Daly 

When Patrick Daly came to Syracuse about 
1844 there were only a few shanties along the 
north side of the Erie Canal in the swamps and 
muck land of Lodi, One farmhouse stood in the 
centre of the farmyard which Clinton School now 
occupies. A grove of hard wood covered the hill 
near Green and Gertrude Streets. There were 
two reservoirs built of stone, projecting a little 
above the ground, that had been constructed by 
Captain Teall, the head of the water department, 
and the water was distributed by logs bored 
through their length and fitted well into each 
other. They were prepared at the present tube 
works and are still frequently unearthed. 

The water came from springs and was stored in 
these reservoirs, called fountains, to equalize any 
shortage in the regular water supply. One of 
these gave the name to Fountain Street, the other 
was on Mather Street between Burnet and Hawley. 

Most of the men in that section of the north 
side of the Canal were boatmen, while those on 
the south were masons and their helpers; rivalry 
was keen. The boats were first forty ton, later 
sixty ton, and now about 225 ton, and drew first 
three feet and later six feet of water. There were 
the packet-boats and the freight-boats. The 
packet had the right of way, paying double clear- 
ance. It was narrow, pointed sharply at the bow, 
and had a small rounded stem. It carried pas- 



Syracuse 143 

sengers and freight. Its crew were a captain, two 
steersmen, and a bowsman. The driver was less 
closely attached to the boat, being at the service of 
the different crews. Later the whole crew was in- 
creased. The packet-boat was drawn by three 
horses tandem, the driver riding the rear horse. 
Every fifteen miles the horses were changed in 
quick time, everything being ready, and the 
journey continued with the horses on a gallop 
or trot all the time, day and night. They came 
up full speed to the locks with the right of way 
and passed in ahead of other boats. This led 
to many fights, but the packet-boats had the best 
fighters in their crews. They were hired for that 
needed qualification no less than for their labor. 
Passengers disembarked at various points along 
the Canal. Many passed on to Buffalo and the 
West in both the packet- and the freight-boats. 
After a while several boats were owned by one 
man or company, as the Western Transportation 
Company and the American Transportation Com- 
pany, called the W. T. and the A. T. By calling 
out these initials the crews made themselves known 
at night. These companies maintained barns 
at regular stations along the Canal so that drivers 
and horses were changed with little delay. In- 
dividual owners hired their own drivers and the 
horses travelled side by side leisurely. 

The freight-boats, called simply canal-boats, 
carried salt, grain, wood, and other merchandise, 
the smaller boats stopping every few miles to 



144 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

receive and discharge freight, the larger boats 
carrying freight only for Buffalo and the West. 
Salt was the most common cargo from this County. 
The drivers usually walked but often rode in a 
saddle. One of the dangerous parts of the Canal 
was at Lockport where the steep bank above the 
heel-path and the narrow tow-path made a false 
step cost a horse's life. 

The activity along the Canal reached its height 
during the Civil War when eight thousand boats 
had clearance. 

Patrick Daly went boating when eighteen years 
old and spent years in that line of work. 

Patrick Daly is the son of Peter and Margaret 
Conners Daly and was born near Holy Cross, 
County Tipperary. His parents brought him to 
Syracuse about 1844 with their other children: 
Peter, Maria, Margaret, and Bridget. Patrick 
married Catharine, daughter of Peter and Mary 
Ann McGuire Nicholson of Albany. Their 
children are: Mary A., Arthur P., Nellie, who 
married Charles Sammons. 

James Hughes 

James Hughes came to America about 1845. 
His wife was Catharine Gavigan and their children 
are Charles, James, and Eugene. James Hughes 
was an extensive stone contractor and for more 
than half a century the family engaged in that 
branch of industry. 



Syracuse 145 

Florince O. Donohue 

Florlnce O. Donohue was born in Syracuse, 
the son of Cornelius and Ellen Donohue Donohue. 
He married Lucy Mosely of Onondaga. 

William J. Dwyer 

William J., son of Michael and Katharine 
Corcoran Dwyer, has been close to the business 
life of his native city. Michael served in loist 
Reg. of N. Y. Vols, from 1861 to the close of the 
war. 

John L. Heffron represents the third genera- 
tion of his family born on this side of the Atlan- 
tic and the third generation of physicians. His 
grandfather was surgeon in the War of 18 12, his 
father was a physician, and John Lorenzo Hef- 
fron is both Master of Arts and Doctor in Medi- 
cine. 

His great-grandfather, Dennis, came from Bally- 
castle, County Antrim, to Keene, New Hamp- 
shire, and served in the Revolution. The wife of 
Dennis was a Scotch woman. 

William E. Hopkins is the ninth generation 
from the arrival of the Mayflower. His grand- 
father Elijah came to Onondaga in 1798, but re- 
turned to Connecticut and three years later came 
with his wife on horseback to Onondaga Hill. 



146 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

There were three distinct families of this name in 
the County, and this branch claims Irish blood in 
its ancestry. 

Albert Edwin Larkin is of a family established 
in America before the Revolution. 

Dennis McCarthy, son of Dennis and grandson 
of the pioneer Thomas McCarthy, has staked his 
own claim in the history of the County. 

Eugene McCarthy, son of Robert and grand- 
son of Thomas, won reputation as an author. 

Harold MacGrath, the well-known author, 
probably owes some of his sense of humor to his 
Tipperary ancestors. His grandmother, widowed, 
brought her son Thomas to Onondaga. She is re- 
membered for her wit. 

Class Distinction 

Along with county loyalty the Irish have deep- 
rooted ideas of social division, of class distinction, 
inherited from generations untold. In the old 
country marriages are arranged between members 
of the same class, family blood being of first im- 
portance. Perhaps the man and maid saw each 
other for the first time on their wedding day. 
Perhaps each loved some one else. It did not 
matter. They conformed to custom and the will 



Syracuse 147 

of their parents. Occasionally lovers, grown des- 
perate, eloped and came to Onondaga. A servant 
may have run away with his master's daughter, 
or the daughter of a farmer had stooped to love 
a clerk, or Romeo and Juliet of Irish houses had 
defied their families. It was spice to the pioneers 
and a sweet morsel of gossip at the fireside in the 
wilderness. 

An Appeal to the Courts 

All the histories of the County have this note: 
"First Court of Oyer and Terminer for County of 
Onondaga, July 21, 1794. A bill of indictment 
was found against James Fitzgerald for an as- 
sault and battery with intent to rob Andrew 
McCarthy." It is of course gratifying to know 
that the intent was only to rob and that a graver 
motive was absent. Curiosity led to an effort 
to inspect the indictment with the hope of find- 
ing the evidence in the case and any friends of 
either of the parties, residents of the County at 
that early date. No evidence was recorded. 
Most eager was the desire to learn what was the 
matter with Andrew that he had to appeal to the 
courts. Of course he may have been physically 
unfit to settle with his assailant, or he may have 
been a Scotchman. 

Patrick Reidy; John Reidy; Simon Reidy 

John Reidy, the son of Maurice and Sarah Mc- 



148 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Grath Reidy of Kildysart, County Clare, Ireland, 
followed his brothers and sister to America, land- 
ing at Quebec and coming to Onondaga the same 
year, 1852. His father owned a farm and was 
also a weaver of wool and linen, operating several 
looms and making all grades of goods, the finest 
being called Dowless. He sold part of the farm 
to send his children to America, John just after 
the famine years. 

Work was not easily obtained in those days and 
men travelled long distances on foot looking for a 
job and willing to take any kind. John found 
work first on a farm at Christian Hollow, and often 
on Sunday after the early tasks walked to St. 
Mary's Church in Syracuse to attend Mass, and 
back again to his work. Though short of stature, 
he was like a rock in strength and needed no as- 
sistance to maintain his rights. A man twice his 
height might on occasion find himself gripped by 
the knees and sent flying over John's head. 

Working in various capacities for several years, 
he finally became a boiler maker in the employ of 
the New York Central and worked there for forty 
years without a single period of suspension. In 
1 858 he had saved money enough to buy the prop- 
erty in Geddes Street where he still lives. 

John Reidy never missed going to church. He 
supported it generously with money and labor. 
He was among the first members who formed St. 
Lucy's parish, attending the first Mass held in the 
Cook building and going himself to a convenient 



Syracuse 149 

lumber yard to bring in boards for the temporary 
seats. 

He married Honora, the daughter of Michael 
Konoulty, and has three children: Maurice, 
Margaret E., and John J. 

Patrick Reidy , brother of John, came to America 
in 1847. He enlisted in Company C, 12th Regt. 
N. Y. Vols., was wounded at Bull Run, and re- 
turned with discharge. Later he moved to Iowa. 

Simon Reidy, brother of John and Patrick, 
came to Onondaga in 1847. He has two daugh- 
ters: Mary, the wife of T. Frank Dolan, for 
many years leading soprano in St. Lucy 's Church 
choir, and popular for her sympathetic rendering of 
the Irish melodies; and Sarah, the wife of Peter 
J. Walch. 

James Butler 

James Butler served in Co. D., 1226 Regt. N. Y. 
Vols., from 1862 to the close of the war. He was 
County Clerk at the time of his death. He mar- 
ried Mary, the daughter of Richard and Ellen 
Campbell Randall, pioneers of Split Rock, and 
their son, James Campbell Butler, now fills the 
office of County Clerk. 

Patrick Francis Cahill 

Patrick Francis Cahill was born in Syracuse in 
1844, son of Edward and Ellen Meagher Cahill. 



150 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

He served in Co. K., 185th Regt. N. Y. Vols. 
He was Deputy Sheriff of Onondaga County for 
more than twenty-five years. His wife is Cath- 
arine Sweeny and their family consists of six sons 
and three daughters. 

Malachi Gooley came to Onondaga County from 
Ireland in 1846. 

John Kelley 
Anna Mooney Kelley 

John Kelley was from County Tipperary, near 
Killaloe and Ballina (Ballinaugh) , and went to 
work on a farm on Onondaga Hill about 1847. 
He was the son of Frank, who with his second 
wife, Nancy Reagan Kelley, came with him to 
America ; but the father fell sick on shipboard and 
died shortly after the arrival in New York. 
John Kelley was seventeen years old when his 
father died, leaving his wife and five children to 
the care of John, the son of his first marriage. 
From the Hill, John went to work in the Onondaga 
Indian quarry and spent more than fifty years 
there, sometimes as foreman, sometimes as owner. 
In 1847 the quarries were worked by O'Brien, 
for whom John Kelley worked six years, and then 
took charge and ran them for ten years for him- 
self. Then he sold out his interest to James 
Hughes and worked for him as foreman in the 
quarries. Nearly all the men working there were 



Syracuse 151 

Irish, who were frugal and industrious in their 
habits. Sometimes a hundred Irishmen were 
there at work. 

John Kelley, in addition to the quarry, ran a 
farm and cultivates it yet. He married Nancy, 
the daughter of Daniel and Mary Curry Mooney, 
bom in Cushendoll, County Antrim, Ireland. 
She came here with her parents and one brother, 
Daniel, in 1851, the other children, John, Sarah, 
Bridget, and Margaret, having come in 1847. 

The children of John and Nancy Mooney 
Kelley are: Mary, John, Frank, Daniel, Ber- 
nard, Margaret, Anna, Charles, William, Cath- 
arine, and James. John married Mary, the 
daughter of John and Julia Murray Butler; 
Frank's first wife was Rose, the daughter of Pat- 
rick Burns, and his second, Mary, daughter of 
Thaddeus Coyne; Daniel married Alice, daughter 
of Philip and Sarah Coyne Gannon; Bernard 
married Nellie, daughter of John and Margaret 
Burke Bowler; William H. married first Jennie 
Mahony and later Nellie, daughter of James 
Dwyer; Catharine married John, son of John and 
Margaret Burke Bowler, and James married 
Margaret, daughter of Thomas and Mary Herald 
McAuliffe. 

The Kelley family naturally saw much of the 
Onondaga Indians, who were peaceable and 
harmless neighbors. Many of them, both braves 
and squaws, wore only a blanket for covering. 
They slept in the open air, often lying on the road- 



152 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

side, wrapped in their blankets. They came to 
the Kelley home frequently for articles of food, 
giving beads, baskets, and other things in ex- 
change. In January and February they went 
hunting witches, looking for them in holes and 
hedges and seeking to scare them away. One 
squaw told Nancy Kelley that another squaw 
was a witch and had caused the death of a woman. 
Some braves came to her house to take her away 
and kill her, but they waited until the bread 
she had made was baked and then took her 
quietly away. She showed no fear and made no 
resistance. 

One squaw was dressed for burial in the clothes 
she had prepared for that occasion — a blue skirt 
and shawl, slate-colored gloves with green rib- 
bons, and white slippers with high heels. She 
had taken off a part of the high heels so they 
would not trip her when she was hunting buffalo 
in the happy hunting ground. Some small cakes 
were put into her coffin near her hand for the 
journey and imtil she could bring down food in 
the hunt. 

Father Heas visited his scattered flock on horse- 
back, travelling through the deep snow-banks. 
He was often obliged to spread his coat on the 
snow to give his horse a footing. Those he served 
remember him with gratitude. He was pastor 
in St. John the Baptist Church, attended the 
Split Rock mission, and was the first pastor of St. 
Mary's Church, now Cathedral. He was sue- 



Syracuse 153 

ceeded by Father James O'Hara, to whom a 
notable reception was tendered on the first St. 
Patrick's Day of his mission. A banquet was 
served in Wieting Hall by the staff of the Syracuse 
House, tickets for which were sold at fourteen 
shillings a couple. The musical programme was 
furnished by Father O'Hara, Doctor Henderson, 
Dennis McCarthy, Robert McCarthy, John Con- 
nelly, and John J. Kennedy, then a child and 
altar-boy at St. Mary's, afterwards Monsignor and 
Vicar-General of the Diocese of Syracuse. 

Pierce Grace 

Pierce Grace is the twenty-second generation 
in direct line from Raymond Le Gras, who mar- 
ried a sister of Strongbow, Earl Richard Le Clare. 
The Grace genealogy is complete. Pierce is the 
eighth generation of the name Pierce. 

He came from Ballytarsna, County Tipper- 
ary, Ireland, and was the son of Pierce and Eliza 
O'Connell Grace, daughter of John O'Connell of 
Templemore. He sailed from Liverpool on the 
Wilson Kennedy, which carried 687 passengers, 
and met many dangers in its three months' trip. 
The boat was once on fire, once partly wrecked, 
and once suffered from a mutiny among the crew. 
Provisions and water were scant. It was bound 
for New York but the captain, influenced by the 
condition of the boat and the desire to see his 
family, wanted to dock at Halifax and circulated 



154 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

among the passengers a paper for signatures to 
grant such a change. Many had already signed 
when the mate, who was an Irishman, learned 
of it. When the signers realized that Halifax was 
a long way from their destination, and they would 
be practically as far from the United States as 
if they were in Ireland, they regretted their agree- 
ment. The mate told them that once at Halifax, 
the captain would declare the boat unseaworthy, 
and they would not be allowed to sail out. They 
regained the signed document by sending one of 
their number to sign, who tore up the paper and 
threw it into the sea, and the boat continued its 
course to New York, 

Pierce Grace came to Syracuse in 1849 by packet- 
boat until, east of Utica, the boat was caught in 
the ice and the passengers had to walk. The few 
hotels along the way were not anxious to receive 
immigrants. 

Pierce Grace spent his life in the employ of 
the railroad companies. He married Catharine, 
the daughter of Stephen and Mary Mahar Loner- 
gan of Ballina, County Tipperary, Ireland, and 
they celebrated the golden jubilee of their mar- 
riage. They were blessed with eight children: 
Pierce, Thomas, Stephen L., Elizabeth, Mary, 
Ellen, Catharine, and Margaret. 

Francis Connelly 

Francis Connelly was for more than thirty-five 



Syracuse 155 

years prominent in the business life of Syracuse. 
He, with his brother James, kept a bookstore, 
deahng especially in Catholic books and church 
supplies. He was one of the prominent men of 
St. Lucy's Church, which he served in many ways. 

His father was Irish, his mother English, and 
he was born in the city of Liverpool. His second 
wife was the daughter of Joanna McSweeney, 
half-sister of the pioneer, Thomas McCarthy of 
Salina. 

His father located in Bald wins ville in 1840 or 
after. The other children are: William, John, 
Anna, James, Mary, Ellen, and Elizabeth. 

William Lilly 

William Lilly owned Lilly's Grove (Bellevue 
Heights now). He was from County Sligo, Ire- 
land. His mother, whose name was Leonard, had 
thirteen sons, five by her marriage to Lilly, and 
eight by her second marriage to O'Brien. 

William Lilly was a soldier in the Civil War, and 
from him Lilly Post, G. A. R., takes its name. His 
picture is said to be on the bronze tablet on the 
Post Office. 

A recent publication of the Onondaga Histori- 
cal Association in an account of the powder ex- 
plosion of 1 841 states: "Nearby lay a boy whom 
I knew well, William Lilly, who recovered and 
afterwards did creditable service as color bearer in 
the 1 2th Regt. N. Y. S. V." 



156 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 
Rt. Rev. Patrick Anthony Ludden 

Patrick Anthony Ludden was consecrated 
Bishop of Syracuse May i, 1887, at the forma- 
tion of the diocese. He was born near Castle- 
bar, County Mayo, in 1836, son of Anthony and 
Ellen Fitzgerald Ludden. He studied at St. 
Jarlath's College, Tuam, Ireland, came to Amer- 
ica in i860, continued his studies at Grand Sem- 
inaire, Montreal, and was ordained in 1864. He 
was appointed assistant at Immaculate Concep- 
tion Cathedral, Albany, then pastor at Malone, 
N. Y., then rector at Albany Cathedral and Vicar- 
General of the diocese 1877-80. He was pastor 
of St. Peter's Church, Troy, from 1880 until 
he came to Onondaga to be the first Bishop of 
Syracuse. 

The growth of the Church in this County and 
the history of the diocese of Syracuse are already a 
matter of record and a timely addition to the 
County history. 

John Molloy 

John Molloy came to America from West- 
meath in 1832, when he was two years old, and 
soon after his father died, leaving him entirely 
alone, his mother having died at his birth. He 
grew to manhood, obtaining an education by his 
own efforts, taught school in Parish, N. Y., and 
elsewhere, finally entering the legal profession in 



Syracuse 157 

Syracuse. He early won distinction for his pro- 
fessional ability and brilliant oratory, but the 
promise of his youth was closed by his death at 
the age of thirty-seven. 

He married Eliza, daughter of James and Sarah 
Donnelly Cosgriff , and their children are : Mary, 
who married Charles Hughes; Sarah, who married 
John F. Whalen; EHzabeth, William C, and 
John R. 

Patrick Corbett 

Patrick Corbett won a large place in the hearts 
of his countrymen by that gift to his race which 
put them in the first rank of the world's orators. 
None of his speeches remain to be judged in cold 
type, and if they did, they would lack the fire and 
magnetism of the speaker. He was a politician 
and campaign leader, and filled the office of police 
justice. Starting as a shoemaker, studying as he 
could, he became powerful enough to hold the at- 
tention of the whole community. 

He married Rose, the daughter of Captain 
Gavigan of Auburn. Her mother was Mary, the 
only daughter of Peter O'Neill of Liverpool. 

Francis Edward Carroll 

Francis E. Carroll was bom in Philadelphia, 
Nov. 16, 1830, son of James Francis and Mary 
Louise Dana Carroll. His father was from 
County Wexford, Ireland, his mother of French 



158 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

descent. Her grandfather Cotineau during the 
Reign of Terror was called out from his home and 
taken away by a detachment of soldiers, and 
probably bowed to the guillotine. 

Francis E. Carroll came to Syracuse in 1849. 
In 1 87 1 and 1872 he was elected mayor of the city 
on the Democratic ticket. 

He married Caroline Goldsmith and their chil- 
dren are: Frank D., in Oklahoma; Dana H., Paris 
correspondent of the New York Sun; Goldsmith, 
and Charles L. 

James A. Carroll is the brother of Francis E. 
and a resident of Syracuse. 

Richard Joy 

When Richard Joy came to Syracuse from 
County Waterford, with his eight sons and two 
daughters, the young city was still very close to the 
woodland and swamp from which it sprung. 
Most of the old country people then as now left 
behind them many domestic utensils and sup- 
plies which would have brought comfort to their 
new homes. The women found need of their 
household arts. They made nearly everything 
from soap and yeast to stockings and medicines. 
Quilting bees was the custom within and building 
or reaping bees without. Beds were made of 
husks or feathers, spoons of pewter; cooking was 
with wood fires only. The blacksmith shop alone 
had the luxury of coal. 



Syracuse 159 

Every house had its garden and the winter's food 
was buried in mounds and unearthed as needed. 

Amusements were the dance and parties, fre- 
quent and joyful. The chief occupation was of 
course in the salt industry. Richard Joy mar- 
ried Mary Powers, and their children took part in 
the business life of the city with uniform success. 
They are Nicholas, who married first Bridget 
Cummings and later Jane Vrooman; John; Pierce, 
who married Catharine Guilick; Mary Ann; 
Thomas, who married Mary Ann Meagher; 
Ellen, Michael, Richard; Patrick, who married 
Bridget Meagher, and Edward, who married 
Mary Cleary. 

Thomas Hurst 

Thomas Hurst came to Syracuse in 1822. His 
children are: John; Samuel, who married Mary 
Beatson; George, who married Miss Scott; Sarah, 
who married Mr. Dustin ; Margaret, who married 
John Clark; and Ellen. 

John Doherty 

The story runs, that John Doherty contracted 
consumption during service in the Civil War, and 
returned home to be nursed faithfully by his 
mother. As the end drew near, the young man 
grew afraid and begged his mother to go with him 
on the lonesome journey. 



i6o Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 
John Burns 

John Bums rounded out his hundred and one 
years among his children and grandchildren and 
great-grandchildren in Syracuse. Bom in Mary- 
borough, Queen's County, Ireland, in 1808, he 
served in the army, and at the age of thirty 
eloped with Katty Kennedy, the young daughter 
of a nobleman whose lodge he occupied. From 
New York they came to Syracuse and its vicinity 
and here grew up around them their remarkable 
family of six sons and five daughters. 

John Burns's life is already a matter of record, 
for his birthdays were of public interest. During 
his lifetime he cleared of timber and put under 
cultivation three hundred and fifty acres of land 
in this County. His children are: Mary, who 
married James, son of Patrick and Catharine 
Burns; John, Jr., who married Mary, the daugh- 
ter of Thomas Dwyer; William, who married 
Cora, the daughter of John and Sarah Taft Mc- 
Chesney; Edward P., who married, first, Eliza- 
beth, the daughter of John and Mary Beers, and 
later, Minnie A., the daughter of Dr. D. W. and 
Elizabeth Dunbar Burdick; Joseph, who married^ 
first, Dora, the daughter of John and Mary O'Brien 
McLean, and later, Jennie, daughter of John and 
Mary Lynch Dillon; Anna, who married John W., 
son of Timothy W. and Honora Crowley Cronin ; 
Margaret Ellen, who married John, son of Michael 
and Nano Buckley Mack; Frank, who married. 



Syracuse i6i 

first, Mary, daughter of Nicholas and Bridget 
Cummings Joy, and second, Anna, daughter of 
Patrick and Mary Murray McGraw; Catharine, 
who married James J., son of James and Ann Mc- 
Carthy Kehoe ; Charles ; and Emma, who married 
Charles E., son of James and Martha Clancy Oley. 

Irish Surnames 

The preservation in correct form of the name 
men transfer to their children is a lifelong task 
under ordinary circumstances. When pioneers of 
different races meet, their mutual strangeness is 
manifest in the attempts to spell each other's 
names. Moreover education is not universal. 
The Irish pronounce the vowels as in Latin, their 
language having been less affected by outside 
influence than the English. In consequence of 
these things a single Irish name appears in records 
in a dozen or more forms, often scarcely recogniz- 
able. The prefix Mac is used for the whole 
name or is not used at all or is added to a name 
without authority. The vowels a, e, i, and u, 
each with two sounds, Latin and English, lead to 
endless variety. There are syllables which have 
no equivalent English sound. The recording 
clerk wrote a name according to his own special 
knowledge of sounds, getting results most un- 
usual. Often the owner of a name could not spell 
it without hopelessly confusing his auditor with 
a, e, i and ah, a, e. 



i62 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

These Irish names, which appear in every page 
of American history, are a rich legacy from the 
saints and scholars, the kings and warriors of the 
Emerald Isle. Her children have borne them to 
every part of the earth. 

There are other names shared by Irishmen with 
the Scotch and English and with those who have 
lost identity with the Irish. The nature of this 
work precludes research in nomenclature. Un- 
less there has been evidence or a reasonable cer- 
tainty of Irish blood, names have been excluded 
when extracts have been made from the records. 
In the original part of the work, of course, the 
names are those of Irishmen. 

The doubt-producing names are, besides others : 
Anderson, Bennett, Berry, Brown, Burns, Butler, 
Coleman, Collins, Cook, Clark, Cummings, Cun- 
ningham, Day, Davis, Daggett, Dixon, Drake, 
Dunn, English, Edwards, Fay, Ford, Fitz, 
Griffin, Gray, Gere, Gleason, Glynn, Graham, 
Hall, Harrington, Hayes, Hackett, Hand, Hen- 
derson, Hicks, Higgins, Hopkins, Hunt, Johnson, 
Keeney, Keeler, Lee, Lane, Lacy, Lamb, Leslie, 
Lewis, Lyon, many names beginning with Mc 
and Mac, Martin, Matthews, Molyneaux, Mor- 
gan, Moore, Mitchell, Owen, Powell, Powers, 
Price, Rogers, Reed, Russell, Savage, Shaw, 
Shields, Scott, Smith, Stanton, Taylor, Wall, 
Ward, Walch, Welch, Weston, Webb, White, 
Wilson, Young, and Youngs. 



Syracuse 163 

Early Marriage Records of Irish, from First 
Presbyterian Church, Syracuse^ 

1826. Mr. Anderson of Salina to Miss McFar- 
land of same place. 

1833. Mr. Thomas Owens to Miss Leora Ormsby, 
both of Camillas. At Mansion House. 

1834. Mr. Sterling Morehead to Miss Ann Leslie 
of this village. 

1837. John Galvin to Eliza McDonald of Caze- 
novia. Daniel Hopkins, witness. 

1838. John McBride of Elbridge to Mary Gregg. 

1839. John Fleming to Elvira Wheaton. 

1839. John Grier to Bridget Hughs of Geddes. 
Witnesses, Michael SulHvan, L. Stephen Kimball. 

1840. Wilham Henry Cable to Mary Rodgers, at 
Mr. Haggerty's. 

1 84 1. Peter Curran to Mrs. Laura Parks of Split 
Rock. 

1842. William Craig to Mary Lane, all of this 
village. 

1843. John White to Sarah Conway of Cicero. 
At Kellogg's Onondaga House. 

1843. Theodore F. A. Andrews to Jane Agnes 
Hopkins. 

1844. Sylvester R. Town of Canandaigua to Mary 
Savage of Lodi. 

Marriage Records of First Baptist Church, 
Syracuse, N. Y., Rev. Mr. Gilber, Pastor 

1 8 15. Mr. Vansallas to Mariah Salmon. 

1 8 16. William Gary to Sally West. 

' Compiled by Minnie L. Kellogg, Syracuse Public Library. 



164 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

181 7. Mr. Cummins to Miss Benton. 

1825. Henry Train to Mary Sullivan. 

1826. James Davidson to Elizabeth More. 

1827. John More to Nancy A. Cook. 

1827. Theodore Fleming to Nancy Ainsley. 
The marriage fee was indicated by Roman letters 
I, II, 113^, occasionally V, X, and once XX. 

Inscriptions in Cemeteries 

Onondaga Valley. 

James Sisson, died 1827, age 80. 

Hannah, his wife, died 1821, age 63. 

James Sisson, Jr. 

Bridget, wife of Franklin Peck, son of Captain 
Joseph and Hannah Peck. Bridget was daughter 
of James and Hannah Sisson, was born at Stonington, 
Conn., Dec. 9, 1785, and died April 5, 1842. 

Delphi Cemetery. 

John Shields, 1 747-1 832. 

Jane, his wife, 1 751-1839. 

Patrick Shields, July 20, 1867, age 91. 

Navarino. 

Oliver Cummings, died 1856, age 86. 
Esther, his wife, died 1838, age 70. 

Pompey. 

Jemina Robinson, wife of Thomas Burk, died 1847, 
age 74 years. 

Jane Dunn, daughter Carey and Jane Dunn, April, 
1836. 



Syracuse 165 

Thomas Grimes and Mary, his wife. 
Catharine Grimes, wife of Oliver Watkins. 
Sally McKay, wife of Philo McKay, died 1829. 
Henry, died 1829, nine days before his mother. 

Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Geddes. 

Freeman Hughes, born 1781, in Massachusetts, 
died 1856. 

His wife, Mary Hughes. 

Fayetteville. 

William Cunningham and his wife Margaret. 
Their son, bom in 1839. 

Two Hated Sins 

There are two sins which the Irish believe to be 
the most deadly, which taint the blood almost be- 
yond cure, beyond cleansing. The worse of the 
two is treason. Their native land is to them still 
a country in rebellion, struggling against tyranny. 
Treason is the blackest crime in their decalogue. 
An informer, a spy, tarnishes the good name of his 
whole family. The tragic history and fate of the 
Emerald Isle, her ceaseless struggles for freedom, 
the pathos of her long-sustained misery prompt 
the thought that all has been fore-ordained and 
that in time there will come the answer to the 
Irishman's prayer, "God save Ireland." 

Next to treason and its brood, the Irish hate 
lust. They both follow a family even into the 
wilderness. In Ireland, the Scarlet Letter is so 



i66 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

unusual as to be almost mythical. Some one 
may have seen it, but that was a long time ago. 
This is the testimony of men and women from 
every part of that country. It is a fact of statis- 
tics borne out by the experience of Onondaga. 
Chastity is in the blood of their race. 

It is true that, in the radical changes of social 
conditions which the immigrants met in America, 
transgressions did occur. The equal liberty to 
boys and girls, so natural here, is not readily 
understood by foreigners. Even the mixture of 
different races is a novelty and surprises and ex- 
cites them. It is hardly to be wondered at that 
young men and women thrown together by the 
circumstances of their work, freed from the re- 
straining customs of home and native land, in- 
toxicated by the unwonted liberty, sometimes 
found themselves enmeshed in scandal. Among 
the Irish in Onondaga there was less of a shame- 
ful character to be forgotten than among their 
neighbors, both because of the virtue of their men 
and the transcendent purity of their women. 



Ill 

ONONDAGA 

John Lynch 
Catharine Gormly Lynch 

SPLIT ROCK was well known along the St. 
Lawrence, as well as along the Hudson to 
New York. John Lynch and his bride, Catharine 
Gormly, left New York for the wilderness of 
Onondaga, expecting to make the whole journey 
by water, but for some reason had to finish with 
an ox team. This was in 1827, when the Canal 
was new. Their destination was Split' Rock 
and a farm, and here they lived iintil the grim 
reaper took his harvest and the wife and children 
were left to make their own way in the world. 

John Lynch was born in Ballananagh, County 
Cavan, Ireland, the son of Andrew and Mary 
Lynch. His wife, Catharine Gormly, was born in 
1801, and lived to be one hundred years old. 

The Gormly family was originally of County 
Armagh, but during the efforts of colonization in 
Ulster was driven south and settled in County 
Longford near Lough Gowna. John Gormly 

167 



i68 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Art, grandfather of Catharine, Hved to be one 
hundred and three years old and told his young 
granddaughter many tales of the English and 
Irish in the province of Ulster. The Gormly 
family was very numerous and the various 
branches were distinguished by compound names. 
This branch added Art, a contraction of Arthur, 
to the surname, while the son of John Gormly 
Art took Arthur for the full Christian name. 
Arthur Gormly married Catharine Gormly, 
daughter of Michael, and their daughter, Cath- 
arine, married John Lynch. The Gormlys were 
alike remarkable for longevity and for their great 
stature. Long Sampson Gormly measured seven 
feet and six inches in height and received that 
share of mother earth in a New York cemetery. 
Another member of the family reared twenty- 
three sons and one daughter. 

Catharine Gormly, a grandfather's pet, was a 
little rebel in the schoolroom because she did not 
like the master. She came to America in 1814 
on the Carolina Ann under the command of Cap- 
tain Bush, sailing for three months, often driven 
from the course by storms. In New York she 
went to live with Letitia Blackwell until her 
marriage in 1827 and her departure for Split 
Rock. 

Catharine lived in close touch with the life of 
the Rock and told many thrilling incidents of early 
days. The last panther in this County met the 
pioneer's axe at the Rock, and bears prowled oc- 



Onondaga 169 

casionally, the last one folding a man and a sapling 
in his embrace, which latter kept the man's ribs 
intact imtil help came. She told of an infected 
house every one occupant of which contracted a 
fever imtil one sensible woman, anticipating dis- 
infection, scrubbed and whitewashed the house 
from top to bottom and destroyed the contagion. 

Catharine found many friends in her hour of 
loss and sorrow. Three of her children had died, 
but the other two were destined to enter the busi- 
ness life of the future city, doing their share of 
the world's work. Both entered the grocery 
trade and general store, John J. Lynch and Mary 
Lynch, the wife of Thomas Webb Egan. Their 
children keep alive their memory. 

The children of Thomas Webb and Mary 
Lynch Egan are: James, Martha, Rose Frances, 
Thomas Webb, Jr., Alice, Seymour, Gertrude, 
John, Agnes Geraldine, and two infants. 

John J. Lynch 

There were schools at Split Rock and school- 
masters, and John J. Lynch showed early ap- 
preciation of both. He was a diligent pupil and a 
passionate lover of books during his whole life. 
He advanced from grade to grade, working his 
way through school and then teaching where he 
had studied. At Split Rock and Howlett Hill 
and in the vicinity of Homer he taught school 
until he was able to enter the academy at Homer, 



170 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

graduating at the head of his class in 1861. He 
was a man of gentle natiire and manners, es- 
sentially refined both in his domestic and business 
circles, leading by virtue of his trained mind 
those with whom he associated. He was of that 
band of stanch friends who rallied to the support 
of the young pastor of St. Lucy's Church in the 
early days of its organization. He gave time and 
labor and money to the young parish while en- 
gaged in developing his own work in a general 
store. 

He married Mary Schemel and they have seven 
children: Arthur, Katharine, Augusta, Grace, 
John, George, and Martha. 

Bernard Clark 

Bernard Clark of County Cavan and his wife 
Mary, the daughter of Garrett and Ellen Farrell 
of County Westmeath, came to Split Rock with 
their two children in 1836. There were then at 
the Rock many hundred of Irishmen. Nellie 
Clark, second child of Bernard, gave many of 
the facts of Split Rock as well as sketches of 
many of the people there in the early days. 
Her brothers and sisters are: Charles, Mary, 
Sarah, Catharine, Bernard, and James. 

Patrick Degnan 

The activity of the Split Rock quarries was de- 
scribed to Patrick Degnan of Longford, Coimty 



Onondaga 171 

Longford, Ireland, while he was at work on the 
Cornwall Locks in Canada. He had been a stone- 
cutter in Ireland, had worked on the Longford 
Cathedral and other buildings, and had left his 
native land for Cornwall in 1825. Here his wife 
Elizabeth died and in 1830 he brought his three 
children to Split Rock. He then married Mary 
Gavigan. When he moved to Syracuse, his stone 
yard, the first in the city, was at the southeast 
corner of Salina and Jefferson Streets. 

His daughter Maria married Thomas Ken- 
drick; Bridget married Bernard McGuire, and 
Michael married Mary McGovern. 

James Shanahan 

James Shanahan and his wife, Ellen Tobin, 
came to Split Rock from Pilltown, County Kil- 
kenny, Ireland, about 1830. Sometime after he 
went to Michigan and his sons, John, James, and 
Edward, remained at Split Rock or else returned 
there from Michigan. They were all stone- 
cutters in Ireland, good judges of stone, born 
quarrymen so to speak. 

One son, Thomas, became a Jesuit and lived to 
be ninety-six years old in 1907. A daughter, 
Ellen, married John Quinn of Syracuse and their 
son is Rev. Francis J. Nora, another daughter, 
married in Michigan; Mary, in New York. 
Edward lives in Salt Lake City, and Catharine 
married John Lewis. 



172 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

John, James, and Edward Shanahan had ex- 
tensive contracts for stone, first renting the 
quarries and later purchasing farms and quarries 
to carry on their increasing business. James went 
to Tribe's Hill where he opened quarries and made 
contracts on a large scale, becoming superinten- 
dent of public works under Governor Cleveland. 

John and Edward furnished stone from Split 
Rock for many public works, one of the most 
difficult of which was over the Montezuma 
marshes. Several contractors had surrendered 
the contract, but it was carried out by the Shana- 
hans. Fever and ague seized the hundreds of 
men at work in the marshes where they stood 
waist deep in the water. Contractors and men 
alike suffered from the disease with which science 
has only recently become acquainted. 

John Shanahan rented first the Fyler quarries 
and lived in their house. Later he bought a 
small place of fifty acres, west, and a log house 
from Saybrook Lee, and afterwards the fine Kas- 
son farm and house. These were sold in recent 
years to the Solvay Process Company. 

The fever and ague of the marshes sapped the 
strength of John Shanahan and he never regained 
health. After his death, his brother Edward 
joined James in the quarries at Tribe's Hill. 
The children of John Shanahan and his wife, 
Margaret Carey Shanahan, are Ella, Mary E., 
John, Kate, who married George W. DriscoU, 
and Edward, who married Helen C. Becker. 



Onondaga 173 

Michael Driscoll 

Michael Driscoll and his wife Ellen, the daugh- 
ter of Patrick Cronin, left Bantry Bay, County 
Cork, Ireland, in 1842 to come to Split Rock, 
Onondaga County. The uncle of Michael, 
James Driscoll, and his wife were already here on 
a small farm and prosperous in selling dairy pro- 
ducts to their neighbors. Michael remained only 
a short time at the Rock, then went to South On- 
ondaga for a time, after which he located at Syra- 
cuse for seven years. He did the hardest kind of 
work in those days, when hard times were the ac- 
companying condition of labor. He bore more 
than his share of the day's burden and did not 
know it, so great was his strength. When by ac- 
cident he learned this, his wages were increased 
in proportion. He received an extra shilling a 
day. Prospect Hill was cut down to fill up the 
swamps and the virgin soil was hard to turn, but 
Michael's wrists of steel held the plough in the 
furrow when no others could. Virgin strength 
conquered virgin soil, for the Irish immigrants 
were not toil-worn, the labors of their native land 
were light. There is a strength that is innate 
and one that is acquired by exercise, whether in 
work or play. The world-famed athletes of Ire- 
land are not from the laboring class. 

In the old country Michael Driscoll had been a 
farmer specially trained in the surgical care of 
domestic animals and during his long life was ir- 



174 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

resistibly attracted to the soil. At the earliest 
possible day he bought a farm of thirty- two acres in 
the woods at Fairmount, built a house of lumber, 
and began to clear the land. By these exertions 
he was able to support his large family until 
fortune smiled on him through the war clouds. 
A horse reared on the land and a good harvest of 
corn brought him seven hundred dollars, which 
cancelled the debt on the farm. But the children 
were now old enough to know discontent and one 
after the other went forth to win his way in the 
world. The oldest, James, went to the mines in 
California, but in a short time invested his earnings 
in a farm in Kansas. The fever of those days, 
however, claimed him among its victims. Ellen 
entered a convent and joined a teaching order 
of nuns. Michael E., our Congressman, and 
George W., worked their way through school 
and college, and entered the legal profession 
here in Syracuse, where their character, life, and 
achievements are an open book. The other 
children are Marietta, Katharine, Eliza, Mar- 
garet. 

When Michael Driscoll realized that his children 
were not content to remain on the farm, he sold it 
and retired to a few acres near Onondaga Hill. 
But he was again drawn to the life of a farmer and 
bought again in Fairmount, and he did not take 
his hand from the work of stirring the soil until 
the very last day of his seventy-six years. His 
wife has now completed sixty-seven years of 



Onondaga 175 

residence (1909) in the County of Onondaga. 
She will be ninety years old in May. 

Michael E. married Marie McLean. George 
W. married Kate Shanahan and they have two 
children: Keith and Katharine Ernestine. Two 
other children died young. 

Richard Kelley 

Richard Kelley was left to the guardianship of 
his uncle, when a boy, by the death of his parents. 
He and his brothers inherited some money but 
the uncle deemed it wise to bind them out to learn 
a trade. Richard was apprenticed to a shoemaker, 
but in less than a year found the work distasteful 
and ran away. The boy stowed away and came 
to Newfoundland, in 181 1. Here he shipped in a 
fishing smack and began his adventurous career. 
Sometime during the year he was in New Bruns- 
wick and was caught in the forest fires which 
swept along the course of the Miramichi River. 
He saved himself by crawling in a hole in the bank 
of the river until the danger had passed. The 
next year he met shipwreck with the crew of his 
ship. They were thrown on the mainland and a 
young Indian boy, about his own age, led them 
through the forest to a port on the St. Lawrence 
where they shipped for Quebec. Here Richard 
found work at his rejected trade of shoemaker. 
The lumbermen needed boots and repairs, the 
Indians wanted moccasins, and Richard spent 



176 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

several years at work. In the meantime the 
young Indian boy had come to Quebec and by 
chance came to Richard's shop and recognized 
him. They became friends and Richard spent 
every Sunday with Indians, hunting and fishing 
for pleasure. He had labored in mackerel fishing 
in summer, and in winter had drawn wood with dog 
teams, but his Indian friends made him their 
guest of honor. Somewhere in the neighborhood 
they had a chapel, but Richard learned little of 
its history. 

Richard left Quebec with a contractor at work 
on the Welland Canal. He was to look after the 
harnesses of the horses, repairing them when need 
arose, and to make new shoes and repair the 
old shoes of the laborers there. Peter McGuire 
was a foreman there, and the two men became in- 
timate friends. At Smith's Falls near Ottawa, 
which they called Bye-Town, the men met and 
married daughters of Patrick Marion of County 
Monaghan. Peter married Elizabeth, and Richard 
married Margaret Marion. The young women 
had come to Smith's Falls to join their sister, who 
had married John Smith. The two young couples 
followed the contractors from one labor to an- 
other, from the Welland Canal to the Oswego, and 
then to the Chenango Canal. During these years 
Split Rock was well known, for the contractors 
came there to get stone and the residents of the 
Rock were old-time friends of McGuire and 
Kelley. After the Chenango Canal contract they 



Onondaga 177 

learned from their friends, especially John Sayles, 
that Split Rock gave promise of prosperity for a 
grocery and shoe-shop. Richard Kelley opened a 
shoe-shop, which soon expanded into a general 
store, about the year 1836. 

Richard Kelley and Margaret Marion Kelley 
have eleven children, all of whom are still living: 
Katharine, Francis, Edward, John, Elizabeth, 
Patrick, Sarah, Mary, Jane, Ellen, and Margaret. 

There are thirty- three grandchildren and 
twenty-seven great-grandchildren (1908). 

Edmund Kelley, the brother of Richard, had 
come to Newfoundland about 1831 and to Split 
Rock in 1834. They were from County Kil- 
kenny, Ireland. 

There were many Irish at Split Rock when 
Richard Kelley came. The Rev. Father Michael 
Heas went there to adminster to the spiritual 
needs of the people, walking from Salt Point. 
There was a little stone church there for some time 
but it met untimely destruction. The land on 
which it stood had been given or loaned for the 
purpose, but the property changed hands and the 
new owner had no love for the faith it fostered. 
He immediately gave notice that the church was 
on his land and that he would tear it down. That 
same day the Irishmen collected and removed 
every stone from the place, forestalling less 
kindly hands. 

For a long time Mass was said once a month at 
the Kelley home. The priest would come there 



17S Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Saturday evening and the people flocked to him. 
On other Sundays many walked to Salina to at- 
tend Mass. The old candlesticks of brass and 
crystal which were used at Split Rock are pre- 
served as souvenirs of those times. 

It was at the Kelley home that the old holy- 
water font now in the Liverpool church was made 
by the chisels of James Shanahan, Maurice Ward, 
and Mr. Quigley. 

Margaret Marion, wife of Richard Kelley and 
sister of Mrs. Peter McGuire, was the daughter of 
Patrick Marion, County Monaghan, Ireland, a 
school-teacher and linen weaver. He had ex- 
tensive bleach fields. 

Edmund Kelley 

Edmund Kelley spent his youth on the farm, 
having been apprenticed to a farmer by his 
uncle. In 1831 he came to Newfoundland, 
leaving his wife, Alice McGraw, and his baby 
Catharine in Ireland. For two years he worked 
in the cod and seal fisheries, where at that time 
the most desirable product of the industry was the 
skin of the unborn seal. Then he spent one win- 
ter in a lumber camp at Quebec and in the fol- 
lowing year came to Split Rock with his wife and 
child. Here were many Irish working the quar- 
ries as contractors, stone-cutters, quarrymen, and 
laborers. Edmund would wake up at cock- 
crow and had no other timepiece than that barn- 
yard fowl. 



Onondaga 179 

After one year Edmund Kelley left Split Rock 
for Gorham's quarry in Elbridge, but the next 
year returned to farm twenty acres, which he 
bought from Judge Mason as agent for that por- 
tion known as the Fisher lot. It was a military 
lot, but its owner had not settled upon it, and 
when Fisher died his heirs went to law. The ap- 
pointed agent cut and sold the timber and then 
the land, part of which Edmund Kelley bought and 
his heirs still hold. He was a most successful 
farmer, thanks to the training of his youth. 

When Edmund was moving from the quarry to 
the farm he was a little uneasy about the two 
hundred dollars he had in his pocket. It was 
quite a simi in those days and he did not want to 
lose it, so he hid it in the roots of a tree. But 
when he went to look for it, he could not find 
it. He could not recognize the tree in spite of 
weary days of search. Ten years later it was 
found by some wood-choppers, and though 
Edmund's loss was well known, some point of 
law arose and the claim was assigned to an agent 
who pocketed the money and built his fortune 
thereon. 

Catharine, the daughter of Edmund Kelley, 
married Michael Malay, the son of James and 
Ellen Doyle Malay of Thomastown, County Kil- 
kenny. Their children are Ellen, Alice, James, 
Edward, Richard, John, Thomas, Michael, two 
Williams, and Francis. 

Contractors for whom Edmund worked in 



i8o Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Gorham's quarry, Elbridge, were John Shanahan 
and Thomas Hurley. He went to Jordan from 
Elbridge in 1838. Edmund sold his farm in 
South Hollow and in 1838 bought the farm 
at Jordan where shanties of Erie laborers had 
stood. 

Edmund Kelley was the son of and Cath- 
arine Delehanty Kelley of Moncoyne, County 
Tipperary. 

Peter McGuire 

Peter McGuire, the son of Dennis and 

Cusack McGmre, was bom in Knockbride, County 
Cavan, Ireland, in 1807. After the death of his 
mother, Peter and his sister Mary and his bro- 
thers John and Francis came to Quebec and 
then to Ottawa about the year 1826. Peter's 
only experience on shipboard was sea-sickness, 
which the ship's cook finally cured by salt 
herrings, a dish that there and then became his 
favorite. 

At Ottawa, or Bye-Tow^n, Peter obtained work 
on the Welland Canal and soon became a fore- 
man. Here he met Richard Kelley and many 
other countrymen; Richard and he went a- wooing 
at the same house and became kinsmen by 
marrying sisters. He married Elizabeth Marion, 
daughter of Patrick Marion, of County Monaghan. 
Peter McGuire and all the workmen not only 
on the Welland Canal but all along the St. Law- 



Onondaga i8i 

rence River were familiar with stone brought from 
Split Rock, Onondaga County. Workmen from 
these quarries passed into Canada and returned, 
as the spirit moved them. Some worked in 
Canada in summer and at Split Rock in winter. 
Peter moved with the contractor and came to the 
Chenango Canal, and then to Split Rock where 
the contractor often came for stone. Others who 
changed residence as the contractors moved were 
Richard Kelley, Patrick Nesdle, Patrick Taylor, 
and Lawrence Power. 

At Split Rock Peter McGuire opened a general 
store but remained there only one or two years, 
and then came to Syracuse for a short time, 
locating finally on Salina Street at the corner of 
Wolf. 

It is interesting to note that this move of Peter's 
did not meet the approval of Father Heas, who 
considered Split Rock the more important settle- 
ment of the two and more promising in every 
way than Salina or Syracuse. Many others held 
the same opinion, so great was the activity there 
and the nimiber of men. However, things 
prospered with Peter until the fire of 1856 swept 
Salina. He rebuilt his house on a larger scale 
and prospered. He was appointed constable and 
in 1867 was elected justice of the peace, and held 
the office eight years. He then resimied business 
and continued in commercial life until the end. 
He was a trustee of St. John the Baptist Church 
for nearly fifty years. His record as justice is 



1 82 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

still a source of pride to his friends, who recall 
many incidents of his court. 

While the parish of St. John the Baptist was 
struggling for existence, its pastor. Father Heas, 
made his home with Peter McGuire. There were 
two entrances, one on each street. The saintly 
priest, who trudged miles to bring comfort to 
the sick, who gave his coat to clothe the naked, 
whose life was an open book, could not by these 
virtues escape the annual insult. Lest by chance 
he might leave the house by the other door an 
effigy was hung before each of the two doors on 
the seventeenth of March. They were left there 
until removed by the proper agent. 

The children of Peter and Elizabeth Marion 
AlcGuire are: John, who married Esther Devoy, 
and who had one child, Ambrose; Mary; and 
Francis De Sales McGuire, who received Holy 
Orders in 1874. His missions were in Saratoga, 
Fonda, and Albany where for seventeen years 
he was rector of the cathedral. He was a priest 
thirty years. 

Peter McGuire and his son John both sang in the 
church choir, John at times acting as organist at 
the tiny instrument which his father bought. 
The history of this travelling church organ has 
been published {Catholic Sun) with an account 
of Peter McGuire walking to Jordan one morn- 
ing, carrying the pedals which had been forgotten. 
The dedication services were not delayed be- 
cause of Peter's pedestrian endurance. 



Onondaga 183 

Keeners (Caoin) 

The funeral services of the Milesians savored of the 
barbarism of ancient times. When any person of 
distinction or a chief of their ancient families died, 
they prepared feasts and kept open houses for all 
those who assisted at the funeral. The wives of their 
vassals or other women who were professed mourners 
of the dead came in crowds, and entering one after 
the other with every appearance of despair the hall 
where the corpse was exposed, they uttered loud 
cries and lamentations, reciting the genealogy, and 
singing in verse with a plaintive and melancholy 
voice the virtues and exploits of the deceased and 
those of his earliest ancestors. This kind of elegy or 
rhyming funeral oration being ended, they were 
brought into another hall where all kinds of refresh- 
ments were prepared; these women, who relieved each 
other every hour, continued this ceremony as long as 
the corpse remained exposed. The day being appoin- 
ted and everything ready for the interment, the body 
was carried to the place of burial accompanied by the 
same women, making the air resound with their cries. ' 

Where the Irish population in this County was 
concentrated, as at Split Rock, their ancient 
customs were more closely observed than in a 
mixed population. Customs of the old world do 
not flourish on this side. They are regarded as 
superstitious or ignorant practices which are 
better forgotten and replaced by the modern 
forms. Death and all things connected with it 

' The Abb^ Mac Geoghegan. 



i84 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

began at the birth of the race, and a custom of 
many centuries must have had some good reason 
for its existence. On analysis the most approved 
modern methods in funeral ceremonies are found 
to differ little from the old, small margin being left 
for any variation in this old debt all pay to nature. 
To-day the service is more specialized. The 
trained nurse is retained a few days longer than her 
patient needs to act as hired watcher; the crowd 
of friends come and recite the past and present 
history of the family in an undertone, while the 
choir singers add the lamentations in solos and 
chorus. The keeners united the three offices in 
one. Their number was in proportion to the 
means of the family and they had degrees of ex- 
cellence in voice and tears and mournful coimte- 
nance, which made them more or less acceptable. 
Men as well as women won reputation in this 
melancholy profession. The wail was weird and 
peculiar with rhythm and cadences and crescendos 
learned centuries ago. It was often accompanied 
by the regular clasping and unclasping of hands. 
The chant rose and fell in the various keys of the 
human voice, depending on the number and genius 
of the keeners. The language was of course 
Gaelic, but in time became mixed with English, 
the Gaelic being retained in the exclamations of 
sorrow and endearment, the English in the recita- 
tion of virtues: Wirra! Wirra! Wirra! Asthore! 
Asthore! Arrah Wisha! Wisha! Asthore! Asthore! 
Alanna, alanna machree, etc. 



Onondaga 185 

At Split Rock, the keener entered and without 
speaking walked quickly to the dead and began her 
lamentation or alagone. She then retired until 
another keener entered and then they chanted 
together and continued in this way until several 
had joined the chorus. They were not profession- 
als but kind neighbors, who wailed their sympathy 
in the tragic tone of long-past keeners. The echo 
of the keening is heard to-day and will probably 
never die. 

There are many Irish who never heard the 
keening or knew of its existence. They do not 
believe in it nor do they believe in the banshee, 
which foretells death in a certain family. They 
may know that there are some observances of 
which they would not approve but they do not 
know that these things are the abuses of an ancient 
custom. Grief destroys self-control and the 
mourner betrays in lamentation many things of a 
personal nature. These things to stranger ears 
are ridiculous and the custom of keening meets 
disfavor. Moreover in towns and cities fashion 
changes and custom dwells undisturbed only in 
remote districts. The Irish who come from these 
parts know the ancient customs in their full ob- 
servance, where no change is tolerated and ridi- 
cule cannot reach, where offices are performed by 
skilled subjects and cannot with impunity be at- 
tempted by an amateur. Such an Irishman 
scorns the untrained keener and those who mis- 
take him for the real. He has seen the artist 



1 86 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

keeners in their black gowns leading the pro- 
cession, their voices swelling in the ancient hymn. 
But it is the fashion to disbelieve what one has 
not seen, to despise what one does not understand, 
to ridicule instead of reflect, and to discard one 
superstition to grasp another. A banshee is a 
myth, but a dog's howl is ominous; there are no 
fairies, but fortune-tellers reap a harvest; Friday 
is an unlucky day, and thirteen people must not 
eat together. 

Split Rock Folks and Things (mostly be- 
tween 1830-40^ 

Cornelius Hayes, Jr., was Cock of the Walk. 

Michael Kennedy was a persistent scholar. 
He went to school when he could and kept at it 
until twenty-seven years of age or more. He 
was also inscrutable and to this day has not ex- 
plained one of the last incidents of his school-days 
when he spoke a piece in a programme prepared 
for the parents and admiring friends of the 
pupils. Whether he was serious or playing a joke 
on his audience has never been decided. This 
long, lean, and lank man solemnly took his place 
on the platform, with an elaborate bow and ges- 
tures, suited the action to the word and made his 
listeners jump in their seats at his emphasis and 
left them in doubt while he recited: "'My bird 
is dead,' said Nancy Ray, 'I cannot sing, I cannot 



Onondaga 187 

play. Go hang her cage on yonder tree. I cannot 
sing no more to-day.'" 

There were at Split Rock many men of great 
strength, which must have been used up in their 
work, as there were fewer fights or fighters there 
than elsewhere in the County. Thomas Sheehan, 
however, was a scientific left-handed fighter and 
met his Waterloo by treachery at Marcellus, 
where the odds were four to one. 

A little woman named Mrs. Hogan lived alone 
in her little house. There were signs of a severe 
snow-storm and knowing that she would be snow- 
bound, she went to a neighbor's to borrow some 
matches. She received them and a present of 
spare-rib and started for home. A few days later 
some men, noticing the untracked snow about her 
house, found the door open and the house un- 
tenanted. A search was made all over the Rock 
and she was found far from her path, sitting under 
a ledge with her shawl drawn close, frozen to 
death. This was in 1881. 

Mrs. McGovern kept store at the Rock. 

James Driscoll and his wife farmed it and kept 
cows. Mary Donovan was her niece and was a 
relative of the Dalys. 

James Reagan was a school-teacher and made 
pens for the children out of goose quills. He was 
a good teacher but terrifying because of his 
gruffness. He growled and blustered and plied 



1 88 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

the rod while he taught the rudiments and the 
classics. 

Thomas Kearnan and his wife Mary were both 
school-teachers. He was also a peddler when 
school was not in session. 

One schoolhouse was built on Lower Rock from 
the material of the church that had to be torn 
down because the land on which it stood changed 
owners and came into unfriendly hands. 

Another school was in the basement of a store 
at the Upper Rock. 

The school at Howlett Hill was for the advanced 
scholars of the Rock. 

The children who went to school at the Rock 
had to pay two cents a day for the privilege. 

There were no seats in the church at Split 
Rock. Many walked to Salina to church along 
the cinder road, and through the mud, jumping 
from one log to another. 

There were as many Irish at the Rock in 1830- 
40 as there are others there now (1908). 

About one hundred families of French at the 
Upper Rock lived in shanties with sharp gables, 
kept neat and pretty, with dainty white curtains 
and flowers. The cellars were bowl-shaped dug- 
outs beneath the house. The women were 
hot-tempered and frequently had hair-pulling 
encounters, which the constable only could stop. 
Their shanties showed signs of dilapidation in 1830. 



Onondaga 189 

The old forge was haunted at night. The 
screech-owls were mistaken for banshees and the 
Irishmen chased them through the woods to see 
whose house they visited. 

Patrick Maloney kept a little shebeen house 
where whiskey was sold by the glass without 
a license. No license was reqiiired. 

Mrs. Dundas also kept a little store, and sold 
whiskey. One day a child turned the faucet 
and a barrel was wasted. All the children were 
whipped by the angry woman except the culprit, 
who hid. 

Whiskey was three dollars a barrel. Sunday was 
drinking day, the day beginning Saturday night. 

Mrs. May was a very little woman and very 
pretty in the white cap she always wore. She 
came to Syracuse to buy flour and carried a sack 
of it on her head to Split Rock. 

The Clancys were bakers at the Rock and made 
good bread. 

Most of the people at Split Rock went bare- 
footed. On festive occasions they carried their 
shoes and put them on when the destination was 
reached. This was the rule when going to a 
dance. The depth of the mud made the rule 
necessary. 

Dancing in the old stone store was conducted 
with all the formality and propriety of a dancing 
class. Gordon Harvey of Salina was the dan- 



190 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

cing master and fiddler, and he was very dignified. 
The SpHt Rock boys paid him well and on oc- 
casion outbid the Salina folks for his services, 
paying twenty-five dollars for his assistance at a 
Fourth of July dance. 

Patrick Taylor was a shoemaker and journey- 
men of his trade often came to assist him. 

Captain John Hastings was a great quarry- 
man. He received the title of Captain because he 
had charge of exploding the gunpowder used in 
blasting the rock. 

Ned Day carried a barrel of flour on his shoul- 
ders from Syracuse to the Rock whenever the needs 
of his family required that article of food. Every- 
body carried home their flour, but Ned had no 
competitor in anything. He took all without op- 
position. Occasionally on Saturday night Ned 
celebrated a little and in the expansion of his 
spirits walked up and down the road, beating a 
drum or a tin pan, yelling like a fiend and daring 
any one to come out and fight. No one ever 
came out. 

With Ned on the warpath was his second — a 
blustering little chap named Hughes. He tagged 
along swaggering and shouting and perfectly safe 
under Ned's care. He was called in derision the 
Cock of the Rock. 

There were at Split Rock two branches of the 
Hayes family, one of which was Scotch and the 



Onondaga 191 

other Irish, but no one ever thought of call- 
ing either by the present commonly-used term 
"Scotch-Irish." Most of the people there were 
French or Irish, living in two distinct settle- 
ments. There were a few Scotch and some 
whose ancestors were immigrants several genera- 
tions before. There was no religious strife be- 
cause nearly all had the same faith. In fact, 
from a Catholic standpoint Split Rock was by far 
the most important colony in this part of the 
State. 

The gulf, or little valley along the base of the 
rock, contained the only source of the water for 
the people. There were two wells of spring water, 
a sulphur spring, and a small stream, ice cold, 
along the bottom of the gulf. The springs were 
named the French well and the Irish well and 
were visited each by its own people. There was 
no prohibition to another's use of the water but 
each nation followed the custom and drew from 
its own well. The water was carried a mile or a 
mile and a half either on the head or by a shoulder 
yoke. Up and down the steep rocky path the 
women passed with ease and grace and siu^eness. 
In the spring and summer they brought their 
clothes to wash in the gulf near the wells. Fires 
were built and huge pots swung, in which the 
clothes were boiled before they were spread out to 
dry. 

The stone store and the stone house have been 



192 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

landmarks for many, many years. The store, now 
in ruins, answered every purpose to which a build- 
ing could be put. It was a store, a dwelling, 
council chamber, dance hall, and general assembly 
room. The stone house was rebuilt in 1832 
by Oris Fay, son of Augustus and grandson of 
William, who was the first of the family in On- 
ondaga. Before that it is said to have been a 
tavern. 

The cooking was done in the fireplace and wood 
was the fuel. The fire was preserved by banking 
it in ashes, and when it went out, a spark was bor- 
rowed from the neighbors. Sometimes a flint 
was used to strike fire. Candles were for light. 

Some of the houses at Split Rock were built of 
stone, some of logs, and the shanties of the 
workmen were of straight boards. The old stone 
store, which has stood many changes, is said to 
have been built by the contractors, Bradley and 
Adkins, about 1830 for housing the supplies of 
the workmen. There was also a small stone 
office with a belfry and bell, which rang the hours. 
The stone store is still a landmark and next to it 
the stone house, with a corner stone and date, 
1832, which was built by Fay. There are other 
stone houses. The log houses were built by the 
farmers for permanent dwellings, while the 
shanties were put up by the quarrymen for their 
own families. They paid no rent for the houses 
but for the land on which they were built there was 



Onondaga 193 

paid five dollars a year to the landowner. The 
rent was higher if a garden was attached. One 
building which sheltered four families was called 
the barracks. 

The quarrymen worked from daylight till dark 
and received one dollar a day. They came from 
all points of the compass. Many came from the 
Welland Canal labors, the Oswego Canal, the 
Chenango Canal, and from quarries along the St. 
Lawrence. Men came on snow-shoes from Canada 
to work during the winter, returning in the early 
spring to their summer work. Contractors 
familiar with Split Rock sent men there. The 
sons of farmers joined the quarrymen and thus 
the colony grew. The stone was drilled by hand, 
eight or ten men working in a crew, making holes 
about two feet apart and filling them with gun- 
powder to be exploded. There were three kinds 
of stone; water-lime on top, and below layers of 
gray and blue limestone. These quarries are 
considered among the finest in the world. 

The quarries of Split Rock occupied that ledge 
running east and west about two miles and vary- 
ing in width from one half to three quarters of a 
mile. The rock is in many places at the surface 
or a few inches beneath, and valuable in being 
thus accessible. At no part is the task of strip- 
ping great. 

The Rock was divided for convenience into 
three divisions: i. The Lower, or Eastern Rock. 
13 



1^4 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

2. The Middle Rock. 3. The Upper, or West- 
ern Rock. 

The quarries were part of the land of the On- 
ondaga Reservation, which was transferred by 
the State to different settlers for farms. The 
value of the quarries was unknown at that time 
but later they were leased to contractors who 
worked them. Among the early settlers and land- 
owners were James Kasson and his sons, James, 
Louis, and Nathaniel, on the Upper Rock, where 
was also Eleazer (Leeze) Loomis. On the Mid- 
dle Rock were Asa Fyler and his sons. He had 
been a Revolutionary soldier and had come to the 
Rock from Connecticut shortly after 1800. On 
the lower Rock was the Fay family, who came 
to this section from Great Barrington, Mass., 
in 1796, and as owners, builders, and contractors 
has ever since been identified with Split Rock. 
Oris Fay and Archibald Hays formed the firm of 
contractors. 

The Kasson property passed to John Shanahan 
and his children and then to the Solvay Process 
Company. 

The Fyler property passed to Hughes Brothers 
and Michael, the son of Patrick Degnan, and then 
to the Solvay Process Company. 

The Fay property is still in the family. 

John Shanahan first rented the Fyler quarry 
and lived in the Fyler house. Then he bought 
from Saybrook Lee fifty acres and a log house to 



Onondaga 195 

the west and in 1842 bought the Kasson stone 
house and the farm. 

SpHt Rock was named by the Revolutionaiy 
soldiers from Split Rock on Lake Champlain with 
which they were familar. This is the statement 
of Edward Fay, who heard it from his father and 
grandfather. Split Rock on Lake Champlain was 
for a long time the boundary between the Iroquois 
and Algonquins. 

Mrs. Anthony O'Brien was a keener. 

There were many snakes at Split Rock. 

There was a railroad from Split Rock to the 
Erie Canal near Geddes Street, passing along the 
Split Rock road. Its cars were operated by grav- 
ity, coasting down the hill, and were controlled 
by brakes. They carried stone to the Canal for 
shipment and were then drawn back to the Rock 
by horses. Traces of this old railroad were visible 
fifty years ago, and parts of it are occasionally 
found when excavating. The rails were of wood 
topped by an iron strip. Sometimes on Sunday a 
christening party came down on the cars to the 
Canal bank and continued the journey to Salina 
on foot. 

There were deep rents in the rocks and small 
animals tumbled in. The rescuer became the 
owner, and nearly every child at the Rock found 
a pet in this way. 

The workers in the quarries were paid partly 



196 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

by store orders, and at the end of the season the 
stores often failed and the men lost. This oc- 
curred frequently enough to be almost a rule. 

Dennis Dwyer owned his house. It was part 
log and part lumber. 

Mrs. Watson lived in the stone store. 

Archibald Hays also lived in the stone store. 

James Hughes took a weekly bath in the. icy 
stream in the gulf. He sank his clothes beneath 
the water with a stone and left them there for some 
time until they were clean, when they were taken 
out and dried and exchanged for his other suit 
which underwent the same process. 

John Campbell would appear to be a Scotch- 
man from his name. He was of Darylone, Coimty 
Tyrone, Ireland. His daughters, Mary and Ellen, 
came to the ,Rock before 1840. One of them, now 
an old lady, became indignant at the suggestion 
that Campbell was a Scotch name. She asserted 
most positively that she and all of her people 
were and had always been Irish. 

William Fay led a cow from Great Barring- 
ton, Massachusetts, to Split Rock when he came 
ill 1796. He chose the high ground and not the 
fertile valley because the valley was an "ague 
hole." 

Oris Fay was born in 18 16. As soon as he was 
old enough he went to work in a lime-kiln, get- 
ting no pay until the end of the season. Neces- 



Onondaga 197 

sity forced him to draw upon his employer for a 
pair of boots and that is all he ever got for his 
season's work. 

There were many transfers recorded in the 
County Clerk's office between members of the 
Fay family and other owners of the Rock who do 
not come within the scope of these notes. 

Clark says in speaking of the Erie Canal*: 

"The first locks were built of Elbridge sandstone. 
Commissioners, engineers, builders, and masons 
had no idea that the Onondaga limestone could 
be cut for facing stone, so little was this valuable 
material then understood." 

Scarcely a dozen lines appear in the histories of 
the County about Split Rock and these may be 
the full measure of its importance. Yet it has 
been the scene of the labors of many men for 
a century or more. An effort to fix the date when 
its great importance began has been unsuccess- 
ful. Conclusions have been drawn from inter- 
views with early settlers and are here put down 
for what they are worth. 

This great expanse of limestone was known to 
travellers before and during the Revolution. It 
was part of the Onondaga Reservation and so not 
included in the military lands. Just before 1800, 
parts of it were purchased from the State of New 
York direct by different families, who cultivated 
the land for farms and used the stone for their 

' Clark's Onondaga. 



198 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

houses and barns, and for lime. The quarries 
were worked in a small way for these local uses 
until 1825 or thereabouts. At this time there was 
at Split Rock a colony of Frenchmen, who had 
probably come from Canada. There were also 
a few Irish. The construction of the Welland 
Canal seems to explain the beginning activity 
of the quarries on a large scale, the stone being 
quarried and cut far in advance. Other canals 
and constructions increased the population and 
activity at Split Rock in 1830 and the suc- 
ceeding years. The stone was drawn down to 
the Canal in winter, sliding over the snow, to 
be loaded and shipped in the spring. The con- 
struction of a railroad with low cars operated by 
gravity made transportation easier. By 1840 
the value of the stone for buildings was fully 
recognized. By this time the Irish had come to 
Split Rock in large numbers. Some of them were 
expert, estimating the quality and grain and 
cleavage at a glance. Some of them had been at 
work along the St. Lawrence and had journeyed to 
Split Rock and back on business for their em- 
ployers and eventually came back to the Rock to 
labor. A trip from Canada on snow-shoes was 
of frequent occurrence. They worked hard for 
little money, and were often cheated at the end 
of the season by absconding grocers. They lived, 
as did nearly all the laborers in Onondaga, in 
shanties made of plain boards. It was the simple 
life and they were sane and happy and healthy. 



Onondaga 199 

They kept the customs of their native land longer 
than any other immigrants because they were re- 
moved from the influence of other people. Their 
French neighbors were equally conservative and 
isolated. 

Split Rock passed to the Solvay Process Com- 
pany, and machinery supplanted muscle, and 
dynamite, gunpowder. The electric drill and 
cable buckets took the place of hands and primi- 
tive railway. Where once a garden smiled and 
overlooked the beautiful valley is now a barren 
expanse of denuded rock. 

Other Pioneer Irish at Split Rock about 1840 
were Patrick Barrett, the Carabine family, John 
Conner, James Conner, son, Cornelius Crowly 
and family, John Carlton, William Cummings, 
Owen Daly, Margaret Daly, William Daly, Daniel 
Daly, John Daly, Flaherty, Fleming, John 
Heaney, John Hayes, James Hayes, Thomas 
Hastings, James Harvey, Patrick Hoban, James 
Hoban, Hogan, William Kearney and Patrick 
Kennedy, Anthony Langan, Roger McGovern 
and family, Ann Murphy, John Murphy, Dennis 
Murphy, Bridget Murphy, Michael Murphy, 
Jeremiah Murphy, Cornelius Murphy, James Mc- 
Carthy (Fitz-Mac), Martin Murphy, Murphy, 
Charles Manahan and Dennis Mahar, Patrick 
Nesdle, Thomas Nesdle, Philip Nesdle, Michael 
O'Brien, John O'Brien, Matthew O'Brien, Law- 
rence Power, John Powers, Ryan, Sullivan, Pat- 
rick Taylor, Peter Tucker, Maurice Ward. 



200 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 
Edward Devine 

Edward Devine came from County Galway to 
New York City about 1840 and spent six years 
there in the grocery business. Failing health 
sent him to live with an uncle in Canada for two 
years, after which he located in the town of On- 
ondaga. He took up the then lucrative work of a 
peddler, travelling through the surrounding ter- 
ritory and in a few years turned farmer. 

He married Margaret, the daughter of John 
Mackey, who located in Lyons about 1840. The 
cholera claimed his wife and two children within 
three days and he fled the scene of his sorrows and 
came to Onondaga. 

The children of Edward and Margaret Devine 
are : James, who married Alice Start ; John, who 
married Theresa Fleming; Mary Ann; Ellen, who 
married Thomas Collins; Edward, who married 
Anna Best Veith ; and Alvaretta. 

James Devine had a double claim on the love 
and respect of his fellow-men. When a young 
man he played the national game with the eyes 
of the nation upon him. He became a lawyer 
and won the confidence of client and court. 

Edward Devine followed his eldest brother 
into the legal profession. 

Patrick Haley 

Patrick Haley left Castlebar, County Mayo, 



Onondaga 201 

about the year 1837 to seek his fortune in America. 
He had worked on the Erie and then wandered to 
Chicago and back to Watertown where fate was 
waiting. For Ann Preston was across the river 
in Canada practically alone among acquaintances 
whose religion was not hers. So her friends made 
a match between her and Patrick and they came 
to Syracuse. With James Haley, Patrick rented 
farm land from the Onondagas in the valley, and 
here his children were born and reared: James, 
John, Patrick, Peter, and Margaret, who married 
Michael Fleming of Syracuse. 

James Haley was not a kinsman of Patrick. 
Andrew was his elder brother, who had lived at 
Split Rock and then removed to Caramony, 
Fillmore County, Minnesota, where there is now 
a colony of the Haley family. 

The Indian lands were desirable for farms be- 
cause they were above the swamps of Syracuse. 
It was a common occurrence to lease the land of 
the valley and hill of Onondaga. 

Patrick Haley was the son of Patrick and Mar- 
garet McAndrews Haley. His mother died and 
his father married again before Patrick came to 
America. 

Other famiHes who located in Onondaga were 
Carlin, Patrick Cloney, Moran, Donelly, Dunn, 
John Hopkins, James Plunkett, Cornelius O'Don- 
ohue, Ryan, Tucker, James McNaulty, Patrick 
McNeil, Michael and Catharine Donohue and 



202 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

their son, Maurice, born 1848, James and Ann 
Murphy Healy, and their son, Martin Healy, born 
in Onondaga, Elijah Hopkins, Onondaga Hill, 
1801, Onondaga County, 1798, Edwin P. Hop- 
kins, born Onondaga Hill, 18 12. 
Bruce says': 

Oliver Cummings came to Navarino about 1790 
from Connecticut and was the first settler on the land 
which became his farm. A barn which he erected was 
the first frame barn in that part of the county, and 
was used for more than a hundred years by four gen- 
erations of the family. He died in 1856 at the age of 
eighty-six years. His wife Esther died in 1838, aged 
seventy years, according to the epitaph in Navarino 
cemetery. 

Their son Charles was born at Navarino, and his 
wife Chloe was a native of Spafford. 

Franklin H. Chase compiled these records of 
the Revolutionary soldiers of Onondaga Town : 

When a very young man Ebenezer Moore enlisted 
in Col. Olney's regiment of the Rhode Island line. 
He served to the close of the war, taking an active part 
in the gallant struggle for about three years. But 
in 1820, then at the age of sixty years, he had only 
property worth $2.55 that he could call his own. 
His wife was then forty-two years old, and he had one 
child, Ebenezer, aged seven. Ebenezer Moore had 
reached the age of eighty-one in 1840. He then 
lived with Almira Wilson in the town of Onondaga 

' D. H. Bruce. 



Onondaga 203 

and drew a pension for his services from the United 
States government. 

Richard Reed, otherwise called "Duke," had a 
varied service in the Revolution, all in the Connecticut 
line. His sole property, and he was then sixty-three 
years old, consisted of an axe worth $2, and a debt 
due him of $5. He had no occupation. He said that 
"from my wound received at the battle of Monmouth " 
and rheumatic pains he was unable to support himself. 
He had no wife nor children. 

William Dean, town not given. The service of 
William Dean was from the first of January, 1777, 
in Colonel John Durgus' regiment of Connecticut 
troops. At first the veteran was in Captain Thomas 
Dyer's company, and, when he was promoted, in the 
company of Captain Daniel Tilden. Dean was a 
farmer, giving his age as sixty- two in 1820, and said 
that in consequence of his age, and a fall from a 
wagon he was very infirm. With him lived his wife 
Anna, aged fifty-seven; his son Rial, aged eighteen, 
and Lucy Denny, aged ten, the orphan of a soldier 
who died in the service of his country in the War of 
1812. 

Jesse Teague, town not given. The veteran Jesse 
Teague served for about two years and four months in 
the army at the close of the war. He had enlisted to 
serve for three years in May, 1781, but was discharged 
in the fall of 1783. Teague enlisted at Weston, 
Massachusetts, in Colonel Jackson's regiment, in the 
company commanded by Captain Hill, and in 1782 
was transferred to the regiment of Colonel Ebenezer 
Sprant, Massachusetts troops, and soon after vol- 
unteered into the company of rangers on the British 



204 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

line under Captain Pritchard. In Teague's family, 
there were seven persons besides himself, Peggy 
Teague, aged forty-nine; Maria Bayard, daughter, 
aged nineteen, with her infant daughter Eliza Ann; 
William, Jemima, Jane Ann, and Elmina.^ 

Other settlers in Onondaga between 1 800-18 14 
bear the names Hunt, Henderson, Fay, Reed, 
Young, Webb, and Clark. 

Dr. Samuel Healy was born in Washington county 
about 1786. He followed teaching in his young man- 
hood and while thus engaged began studying medicine. 
He attended lectures at the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons, New York, and was licensed to practise by 
the County Medical Society of Saratoga. In 18 15 he 
settled at Onondaga Hill, and secured a large practice. 
Admitted to Onondaga Medical Society 18 16. He 
died 1854.^ 

' F. H. Chase. » D. H. Bruce. 



IV 
GEDDES 
Clark says: ^ 

Mr. James Geddes continued at his first 
landing place but a short time, about four years ^ 
when he located on the farm in Fairmount. 

The next person who tried his fortune at this place 
was Mr. Freeman Hughs from Westfield, Massa- 
chusetts, who located there in March, 1799, at 18 years 
of age. At that time there was not a single house in 
what is now Geddes except Geddes Salt Works. Here 
he took up his abode three days and three nights, all 
alone, and not an individual nearer than Salt Point — a 
lonely time indeed, considering the state of the country, 
the dark and dreary swamps, the wolves, bears, and 
wildcats, by which he was surrounded. 

Mr. Hughs has occupied during his residence at 
Geddes almost every station connected with the salt 
business. He has bored for salt, pumped the brine, 
built pumps, made and laid aqueducts, tubed wells, 
boiled salt, made barrels, packed salt, inspected it 
for six years, was a receiver of duties for two years, 
boated salt, and as a Justice of the Peace tried those 
who had evaded the payment of duties. 

The epitaph in the Myrtle Hill cemetery, Geddes, is; 

* Clark, vol. ii., p. 150. 

205 



2o6 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Freeman Hughes born 1781 in Massachusetts 
Died 1856 

His wife, Mary Hughes. 

Record of a marriage in First Presbyterian Church, 
Syracuse, 1839: 

John Grier to Bridget Hughs of Geddes 
Witnesses: Michael SulHvan 

L. Stephen Kimball '• 

James Hughs, son of Freeman Hughs, was the first 
white child born in Geddes.^ 

Timothy Enright 
Timothy Enright came to Geddes in 1836. 

Patrick Parkinson 

Patrick Parkinson was bom in the town of Jay, 
Essex County, N. Y., in 1834 and was brought 
to Geddes by his parents when four years old. 
His father, Richard, and mother, Bridget Mas- 
terson, were natives of Queenstown, Ireland. 
They were farmers in Geddes. Patrick has now 
spent seventy-two years in this County in various 
positions of trust both in the village and in the 
salt reservation. He married first Margaret, 
daughter of John and Joanna Condon Ahern, 
and their children are Cora E., Mary E., and 
Katharine A. He married later Mary Gaherty, 
daughter of Patrick and Jane Ford Gaherty. 

' Bruce. 



V 

DEWITT 
Michael Leyden 

THE following extracts are from the journal or 
diary of Michael Leyden. They are written 
for the first year on the blank leaves of a little 
book, The Traveller's Guide through the United States, 
by D. Hewett, A, M., published at No. 73 Vesey 
St., New York, March, 1822. The writing is in a 
fine hand and records various events from the 
purchase of land to the posting of a letter. It 
is also an account of expenses for groceries, clothes, 
and oxen. Michael Leyden had some difficulty 
with the dollar and cent denomination but per- 
severed. The pounds, shilling, and pence sterling 
sometimes get mixed with dollars, shillings, and 
cents federal. An article cost two and sixpence, 
meaning thirty-one cents, or it cost five dollars and 
six shillings, meaning five dollars and seventy-five 
cents. 

The first record is this: 

On Thursday 6th May, 1824 we arrived in New 
York, we left Limerick on ist April, 1824. 

207 



2o8 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Dollars 

24 Guineas at 5 Dollars and 3 Cents ams to 12072 

25 Guineas at 4 Dollars and 84 Cents ams to 121:00 



49 Guineas Ams to 241 72 

49 Guineas gave in to the Bank there return in 
Dollars is Dollars Cents 

242 ,91 

Joe Agnew is the Owner of the Virginia, we left 
New York on the i8th. of May 1824 we arrived there 
on 7th May, 1824. 

Paid out of the Above Money for our passage to 
Manles (Manlius) ... Ii Dollars. 

I wrote a letter to Mr. Geo. Walton a Saturday 
July loth 1824. 

7th of November 1824 Dollars 

7th of Do. paid To Mr. McCarty in full 7 :6 

1 2th November To Mr. McNeail in part paymt 10:0 
3d of Decemr 1824 To Mr. Gillmore f or^drawing 

a Deed and morgage 2 :o 

3d of Do To am — to witness the deed 07 

3d of Decemr 1824 paid Mr. Cook in part Payment 
of his land 150:0 

I January 1825 To mending a Bonnet for Nancy 0:56 
14th of March 1825 paid for oxen to Mr. Lewis 34:00 
7th May paid for my oxen 10:00 

7th May paid for my cow 8 :oo 

6th Novemr 1825 Paid in full for my oxen 20:00 

Here another entry shows the total amount for the 
oxen was $64 not pounds sterling. 



Devvitt 209 

s d 

22nd. January 1825 To i pair of shoes 12:0 

To making a small vest 4 : o 

Doct Hooker came to see me 

Friday Aug 19th 1825 i time 

a Sunday 21st bled me when 

he was passing by i time 

Michl To Doct Hooker $2 : o 

John To Do 2:0 



George went to school on the 13th of Decemr 1824 
and was at school until a Tuesday, February 22 d 1825. 

I paid to the Captain in New York Hospital Money 
7 dollars, 25 cents. 

The second book is called Michael Leyden's account 
book, and is made by sewing pieces of plain paper to- 
gether, home made. In it are entries of money paid 
Mr. Thos. McCarthy and Mr. Lynch and many other 
people. Also records of the farm — when a certain field 
was planted, the amount of grain harvested, the birth 
of calves and other animals. There are addresses of 
different people and rules and directions for reaching 
them. The year is 1827. 

Amos Scales was a square (probably esquire). He 
lives in the town of Preble Quortland County, 2^ 
miles from Tully Corners South. ' I have to gow true 
Cristin Hollow. I have to gow to Buttons Tavern 
and I will be directed, I have to gow true the Indien 
Castle. 

7th March 1827 we have left 4 logs at the Mill to be 
cut in tue planks and Boards. 



2IO Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Mr. Gerrand was probably a blacksmith and did a 
great deal of work for Michael Leyden, who paid him 
by loads of wood, loads of bark, and bushels of potatoes. 
He mended chains, pointed wedges, mended brand 
iron, mounted swivel and shewed (shoed) the oxen 
and the filly, and repaired wagons and sleighs. The 
bay mare kept him busy for there are frequent entries 
about rummovers (removal) for the bay mare costing a 
shilling for each rummover[ a removing of a shoe and 
resetting]. 

s d 

January i Shewed the oxen 20 : o 

February 24 Shewing the ox 8:0 

Monday December 3d 1827, Geor. and Mary & Ann 
went to school to Miss Witcox. 

2d April 1827 I bought from Adams 60 apple trees 
at 9d pence a piece. 

Potatoes cost 2s 6d a bushel 
Tobacco cost i shilling a pound 
Whiskey cost 2s 6d a gallon 
Wood cost 5 to 8 s a load 
Bark cost 10 to 12 s a load 

Corn cost 50 cents a bushel 

I Plow cost 9 dollars & 50 cts. 
Nails cost I shilling a lb. 

3^ lb. Tea cost 22 cents 
I lb. 10 oz. Soap 18 cents 
Pigeons i cent apiece 

An account of work done by Mrs. Terrall 

s d 
To I coat for Nancy 2 6 



Dewitt 211 

s d 

To 2 pair of pantaloons for myself 8 o 

To I waistcoat for John 4 o 

To I pair of pantaloons for John 3 o 

To I pair of Do. for Michl. 3 o 

To I pair more for John 3 o 

9th June 1827 To the postage of two letters 

from Mr. Geor Walton from Thstown 150 

27th July 1827 To the postage of a letter 

from Patt Leaden :2i 

A Monday, May 14th 1827 our steer was wounded 
by Coopers dog late in the evening and he was dead 
a Friday morning the i8th May. He agreed to pay 
for the steer or to put a steer in his place in the course 
of 2 days. 

$ cts. 

The steer's hide WT. 51 lb. at 5 per lb. 2.55. 
Samuel Cooper agreed to pay for the steer a Saturday 
26th May 1827 $10.70 cts and the account was settled 
this morning at his house. $10.70 & Horse hire $1.50 
& hide $2.55 and pigeons .25 — $15, The horse hire 
was for helping with plowing (3 days). Pigeoiis 
were i cent apiece. He took 25. 

A Friday May i8th 1827 I sold my oxen for $50. 

There is a long account between Mr. McCarthy and 
Michael Leyden. It would appear that Leyden paid 
those who worked for him by an order on McCarthy, 
who honored the order either by money or goods. 
Leyden himself traded with McCarthy for supplies of 
all kinds and paid by wood drawn by his oxen to the 
McCarthy home and salt works and to the home of 
McCarthy's mother, Mrs. McSweeney. These loads 
were duly credited on the back of Mr. Leyden's due 



212 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

bill. Leyden records several purchases and sales of 
oxen and speaks of sheep, pigs, pigeons, cows, foals, 
and horses and the details of their lives. 

In another old book in the Leyden family under 
date October 20, 1832, is an account with Miss Gatias: 

$cts. 
To weaving i piece of Table linen 1:0 
To 4 weeks worke spinning wool 3 : o 
To weaving 24^ yards of flannel 2 : 48 
Charged for washing t(h)read : 10 

Miss Gatias got to weave 20 lb of tread and she 
returned but 7 lb wove. 

Michael Leyden, from whose note-book the above 
extracts were taken, came to this country, from 
Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, bringing with him 
his wife, Anna Walton, daughter of Thomas, and 
their five children, John, Michael, Jr., Mary, 
George, and Anna. 

The note-book above shows that he left Lim- 
erick April I, 1824, and reached New York May 
7th, and May i8th left New York, paying eleven 
dollars for their passage to Manlius. He evidently 
came on to Salina and made various payments to 
Mr. McCarthy. In December of the same year 
he bought a farm near Dewitt and proceeded to 
buy stock and clear the land. The note-book is a 
record of expenses as well as of the details of the 
farm life. The tools used in clearing land, the 
planting or harvesting of a field, his oxen, his bay 
mare, the bill at the blacksmith's are all put 
down in the few pages of the book. 



Dewitt 213 

Michael Ley den had been an officer in the 
English army. His wife, Anna Walton, was a 
member of a wealthy family, who did not much 
favor the officer but gave her a dower nevertheless. 
When the term of enlistment expired they deter- 
mined to come to America. Anna appears in the 
note-book as Nancy, for whom bonnets and 
dresses are made. Anna's oldest brother Thomas 
had studied for the priesthood but on the death 
of his father, a lawyer of Ennis, Thomas gave up 
his studies to take charge of the family affairs. 
It was part of the oldest brother's privileges, which 
he exercised, to attempt to regulate his sister's 
love affairs. However, Thomas himself fell in 
love and married Mary Purcell of Ennis and years 
later three of their children came to America. 
Another brother of Anna Walton, George, took 
his share of his father's property and went to the 
West Indies. He sent one little negro to Ireland 
where he learned the tailor's trade in a seven-year 
apprenticeship. George Walton is said to have 
introduced the wheelbarrow to the West Indies. 
Before that the negroes carried the burdens on 
their heads. Michael Leyden's note-book has fre- 
quent reference to the exchange of letters with 
George Walton. 

The name Leaden, or Ley den, appears as Laden 
in some old records, sometimes as Lay den; e has 
a sound. 

Three children of Michael Leyden, the pioneer, 
grew to adult age and married, and their children 



214 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

served their country well in war and peace. The 
father divided his property as the children started 
out to make their own homes and his granddaughter 
now lives in his old home at Leyden's Corners. 
She is the daughter of his son John and married 
Valentine Roder. Her mother was Hanna Pad- 
bury, the second wife of John Leyden. His 
first wife was a daughter of Thomas Molloy. 

Michael Leyden, the second, son of the pioneer, 
married Kate Carahart and reared a large, in- 
telligent, and enterprising family. Their son 
Maurice became Major in the 15th N. Y. Cavalry, 
three daughters taught school, two of them in 
the high school for many years. One daughter 
afterwards held a professorship in a college in New 
Jersey. Their other sons entered the commercial 
life of Syracuse and other cities. Michael Leyden, 
the second, considered the education of his children 
the best investment for his money. 

Mary Leyden, the daughter of the pioneer, 
received her share of her father's property in 
money. She married James Tallman, a pros- 
perous farmer of Collamer, and was blessed with 
children and grandchildren. 

Michael Leyden attracted to this country the 
children of his brother-in-law, Thomas Walton, 
and his wife, Mary Purcell. Their oldest child 
remained in Ireland but the other three came. 
Within six months Anna Maria was married to 
Joseph Ealden, a native of Kent, England, and 
years later took, for her second husband, William 



Devvitt 215 

Fitzsimmons, a native of Limerick, Ireland. 
Her two sons, William and Robert Walton Ealden, 
served in the I22d Regiment, N. Y. Vol. Inf., in the 
Civil War. Robert was nineteen years old when 
he enlisted, begging to be allowed to go with his 
brother. Both contracted consumption, William 
by swimming the Potomac to save some army 
records and becoming chilled. He died in Los 
Angeles. Most of the Fitzsimmons children 
located in California. 

George William Walton lived in Syracuse for 
some time and was a book-keeper in Root's shoe 
store. He went to St. Louis in 1843 and there en- 
listed in Captain Reese's company for the Mexican 
War. His letters direct that mail be sent to him 
through Lieutenant B. Richardson's Company, 3d 
Regt., U. S. Army, Jefferson Barracks, Mississippi, 
to be forwarded to George W. Walton. In one 
battle the top of his cap was blown off and he 
sent the rest of it to his people in Ireland. He 
died of fever before the end of the war. 

Maria Jane Walton followed the example of 
her sister Anna and married. Thomas Burns was a 
native of County Carlow and when fourteen years 
old stole away from home and stowed away in 
a ship bound for Canada. There he remained 
several years, then came to Syracuse, and after 
his marriage to Maria Walton, opened a store 
at Thompson's Landing, near Dewitt. At one 
time he owned land near the Frye block and found 
it difficult to sell it. A tax receipt Jan. 12, 1855, 



2i6 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

for the city and county taxes combined was for 
$6.50, signed J. M. Reynolds, collector fourth 
ward. 

The two oldest children of Thomas and Maria 
Walton Burns died young. Anna Marion, Frank, 
and Louise are their youngest children. Frank 
was for years a druggist with C. W. Snow. To 
him fell the task of transferring the remains of his 
soldier cousin, Robert Ealden, from one cemetery 
to another and to see the scant remains of the 
uniform of blue. Louise in the McCarthy store 
represents a business association which has lasted 
three generations between the Leyden-Walton and 
McCarthy families. 

The children of Michael and Anna Walton 
Leyden are: John, Michael, Mary, George, and 
Anna. John, born 1802, married, first, a daughter 
of Thomas Molloy, Sr., and had two children who 
died, and later, Hanna Padbury and had two 
children, John, who died young, and Ella, who 
married Valentine Roder and has five children, 
Charles Joseph, Frank, Marie, Edward, and Ella 
Louise. Michael Leyden 2nd, born 1809, mar- 
ried Kate Carahart and had eleven children: 
Maurice, Captain and Major 15th Cavalry, who 
married Margaret Garrigus and had one child, 
Blanche; Hanna who married H. M. Clark, and 
had one son, Orville Leyden; Isaac H., who married 
Nellie Hart and had one daughter, Ella; Elizabeth, 
now a professor in a college in New Jersey, was 
for many years a teacher in the high school ; Hart 



Dewitt 217 

C, who was engaged in the dental supply busi- 
ness; Esther A. (Hester), who became a teacher; 
Barbara, who was a teacher in the high school for 
many years and married James M. Turner ; Edward 
C, in dental supplies, in Rochester; Katharine; 
Ella; Lula, who married James Farrar; Ella, 
twin to Katharine, died young. Mary Leyden, 
bom 1807, married James Tallman of CoUamer 
and their children are: Sarah, who married George 
Garrett, and who had two children, George and a 
daughter who died young; James, Jr., who married 
Elizabeth Donnellson of Onondaga Hill and had 
three children, Jenny, Rose, and William. George 
Leyden, bom 1812, and Anna, bom 1814, died 
at an early age. 

The children of Thomas and Mary Purcell 
Walton of Ennis are Thomas, Anna Maria, George 
William, and Maria Jane. Thomas, a dentist, 
married Bessie Sampson and died from an injury 
received when he was thrown from a horse ; Anna 
Maria, who came to Dewitt, married, first, Joseph 
Ealden, a native of Kent, England, had four 
children — William, married Eliza Price ; he served 
in I22d Regiment N. Y. Vol. Inf., and swam the 
Potomac to recover army records ; Robert Walton, 
1st lieutenant I22d N. Y. Vol. Inf., died in 1868, 
aged 26 years; Maria Jane, married Benedict Blum 
of Salina, now Washington, and Cornelius J., 
married Emma Gardiner of Kansas, had two 
children, May and Robert; second Anna Maria 
Walton married William Fitzsimmons, native of 



2i8 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Limerick, Ireland, and had five children — George 
William, who died young; Anna Maria of Cali- 
fornia; John Walton went to San Francisco ; Elisha, 
married Mr. Weldon of Sacramento, and Thomas 
F., of the Santa Fe R. R. George William, who 
went to St. Louis, served in Mexican War, Capt. 
Reese's Co. Maria Jane married Thomas Burns 
and their children are George William and Robert, 
died young; Anna Marion, Frank Walton, the 
first licensed druggist in this city, and Louise 
Evelyn. 

Patrick Burke 

Patrick and Edward Burke were sons of Mat- 
thew and Bridget Carey Burke, Parish of Temple- 
derry. County Tipperary. Patrick came to 
America before 1829. He owned two quarries in 
Onondaga and for more than twenty-five years 
gave employment to hundreds of his countrymen 
in the construction of public works. He built and 
occupied a stone house, which was the centre of 
hospitality for the immigrant in that part of the 
County. 

Patrick Burke married first Harriet Mayhew 
and they have one son, John. He married, later, 
Margaret Delaney and their children are Margaret, 
Josephine, Bridget, and Anastasia. 

Edward Burke 
Edward Burke and his wife, Mary Kennedy 



Devvitt 219 

Burke, and son Matthew came from Thurles, 
County Tipperary to Jamesville in 1833. They 
were eleven weeks on the ocean. Patrick Burke, 
brother of Edward, was already here. He was a 
contractor, Edward was a farmer. 

The children of Edward and Mary Burke are: 
Matthew, who married Mary Lee; Mary, who 
married Edward Cahill; Margaret, who married 
Charles Byrne ; James, who married Eliza Sherry ; 
Ellen, who married Thomas Small; Sarah, who 
became a nun ; and Julia, who married John Small. 

James McGough settled in Jamesville in 1835. 
Also his wife Peggy (Margaret). 

Between 1840 and i860 there were in Jamesville, 
John Martin, Daniel Quinlan, Mary Bowes 
Quinlan, John Bowes, John Carey, Daniel Carey, 
Margaret, John, Lawrence, and Nellie Carey, 
John Miney, John Brady, John Crow, Andrew 
Crow, Barney McMenome, Thomas Burns, Michael 
Howard, Dennis Corcoran, James Ryan, Eugene 
McCarthy, Peter Logan, Michael McGowan, 
Bryan Trainor, and Martin Quirk. The exact 
date of arrival is lacking in most cases. 

Daniel Quinlan 

Daniel Quinlan was the son of Dennis and Mary 
Ryan Quinlan of New Birmingham, County 
Tipperary, Ireland. They came to America about 
1848. Daniel first worked in Syracuse, then 



220 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

moved to South Hollow and then to Jamesville, 
where he worked as millwright for twenty-one 
years. In 1 874 he started a general store, which his 
son now has. He married Mary Bowes and they 
had two children, Dennis and an infant who died. 
Dennis Quinlan married Ellen Theresa, daughter 
of John and Mary Daly Sheedy. Their children 
are John, Mary, Helen, Daniel, and Thomas. 

Joseph H. McVey was bom in Jamesville in 
1847, being one of six children of James McVey. 
Gideon Seely, his great-grandfather, came to 
Onondaga County in 1797. 

Among the settlers in Dewitt before 1835 were 
John Leyden, spelled Laden, Michael Leyden, 
Enos Burke, Lyman Burke. Other early settlers 
were Frank Burke, Thomas McDermott. 

James Mahar 

James Mahar, son of Michael, was bom in 
Dublin in 1805 and came to Boston in 1824. He 
went South for a time and helped to build Fort 
Sumter. He married Mary, the daughter of 
Edward Boyle of Dublin, and in 1836 moved to 
Chicago^ where on August 9, 1838, was bom their 
son Michael, the first white male child born in the 
village after its incorporation. John Winsworth 
editor of the Chicago Democrat, was then president 
of the village and while taking the census he 

» Chicago was incorporated as a village March 14, 1837. 



Dewitt 221 

informed the parents of this fact. James Mahar 
came to Syracuse in 1840 and worked at the Lodi 
locks and was there when the explosion occtirred in 
1 84 1. In 1842 he moved to Lafayette. 

During his residence in Chicago there was in the 
village only one small Catholic church and one 
priest. Indians and French and sailors made up 
the population. There was no railroad and in the 
one slaughter house the daily number of cattle was 
from seventeen to twenty. The beef was packed 
in barrels and sent to Buffalo on schooners. Land 
twelve miles from the village was sold by the gov- 
ernment for $1.25 an acre. Mahar had bought two 
lots on the lake shore and traded off one of these to 
the captain of a schooner for passage to Buffalo in 
1840. 

Michael Mahar lived near Jamesville in the 
town of Lafayette and was one of the leading 
builders and masons in the southern section of the 
County. He married Mary J., daughter of Cor- 
nelius Callahan, and they have seven children. 
His sisters are Margaret A. and Alice M. Mahar 
of Syracuse. 

Dr. George Eagen, Jamesville, was admitted to 
the Onondaga Medical Society October 7, 1806. 

Daniel Fitzpatrick married Mary, daughter of 
Michael Fogarty, of Syracuse. Their children: 
Ellen, who married James Irwin Hanna; Mary, 
who married John Farley; and Michael. Other 
children of Michael Fogarty are Pierre and John. 



VI 

LYSANDER 

1808 — William Wilson and James Clark, As- 
sessors. 

1820 — The first physician in the village of 
Baldwinsville was Dr. Dennis Kennedy, who also 
built and kept the first tavern. In the latter part 
of his life he gave up medical practice and pur- 
chased the mill property near Lysander. His wife 
was Mary E. Kennedy and he was the father of 
Dennis M. and Bradford Kennedy, prominent 
hardware merchants of Syracuse. He was ad- 
mitted to the Onondaga Medical Society in 1831. 
His other children were Eunice; Sarah Ann; 
Lavinia, who married George F. K. Betts; Alida; 
Warren, who married Mary Merryfield; Hiram; 
Eunice second, married Abram Howe; and Me- 
hitabel. There were eleven children. Bradford 
married Ellen Morehouse. 

In the Onondaga's Centennial are the following 
notes ^: 

' D. H. Bruce. 

222 



Lysander 223 

Richard Sullivan, grandson of General John Sulli- 
van, was born in 1791 and came to the town of 
Lysander about 18 10, being one of the earliest settlers 
in that part of the county. He engaged in agriculture 
and other interests. 

When the War of 18 12 broke out he volunteered his 
services and was given a commission as Captain. He 
served with distinction during the war and after that 
closed returned to his occupation and business at home. 

During his whole life he took a lively interest in 
military affairs and for years during the early times had 
charge of the military training which took place on the 
fiats just east of where Memphis is now situated. 

His wife was Nancy Faulkner of Washington County, 
of which both were natives. They were parents of 
eleven children. Their son Napoleon B. Sullivan 
was bom in Lysander in 1829. He graduated at 
the Geneva Medical College and practised for many 
years at Plainville and Memphis. He married 
Theresa, daughter of Alanson and Susan Betts. 

Other early settlers in Plainville about 18 15 were 
Abram Daily and Thomas Martin, farmer, and in 1820 
Daniel J. Kelly. In Little Utica about 18 12 were 
John Butler, Nicholas and Carmi Harrington. David 
Carroll was in Plainville in 18 10. 

William Moor was an early surveyor of roads in 
the town. 

Fred I. Tator came from Dutchess County in 18 15. 
He married Polly, daughter of John Geary, and they 
had eight children. Their son James M. was born 
in 1824. 



224 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Daniel J. Kelly came to Lysander from Dutchess 
County in 1820, married Nancy Crane. He was one 
of the most successful farmers of the town. Of his 
nine children, T. D., James M., and Joel F. are the 
subjects of biographical sketches in local history. 

William Wilson, the first of three or four generations 
of that name, settled in Plainville in 1806. 

Louis Dow Scisco records^: 

The first permanent settler in the town of Van 
Buren was Joseph Wilson, a native of Limerick, 
Ireland. Patrick Carroll and Ira Welch were in 
Baldwinsville in 1830. 

Dr. John Hart, Lysander, admitted to Onondaga 
Medical Society, 1841. 

Francis McCabe and his wife, Catharine Con- 
Ion, came to Baldwinsville from County Monaghan 
in 1832. They owned and conducted the Ex- 
change Hotel for many years. Their children are 
Mary Ann, Margaret, Andrew, and Catharine, 
who married Patrick H. Quinlan and had one son, 
John Michael. 

Dennis Donovan was looked upon as an early 
resident of Baldwinsville, having located there 
about 1840. 

Andrew Fitzgerald, Artillery, was born in Ireland 
where his father was a government official. He came 
to Salina in 1847 and worked in a brickyard. Later he 

^History of Van Buren. 



Lysander 225 

went to Elbridge and then to Baldwinsville. He en- 
listed in 1862 in 3d N. Y. Light Artillery in Auburn. 
He was taken prisoner in 1863 and confined in Libby 
Prison for six weeks, then paroled, and exchanged. 
Came home on furlough when his wife died. Return- 
ing to the front he served with his battery until just 
before Lee's surrender, when he was seriously wounded 
by the bursting of a shell. He was sent to New York 
and then home. * 

' Baldwinsville Gazette. 



VII 
SPAFFORD 

NEARLY all the Spafford notes are extracts 
fromG. K. Collins': 

Jeremiah Fitzgerald came to this town, Spafford, 
Thorn Hill, from Wallldll, N. Y., in the spring of 1806 
and settled on 300 acres owned by him on lot 70 
Marcellus. He died in 18 17 and was buried in the 
old Borodino cemetery on the farm of Alexander 
Becker, north of the village of Borodino, now in 
disuse, and no stone marks his grave. In his will, 
August 20, 1810, and probated February 12, 1817, he 
mentions his wife Anna Fitzgerald and the following 
children — William; Elizabeth, married Warren Knee- 
land, son of Jonathan; Susanna, David, John, and Jere- 
miah. He also mentions his two grandchildren, Jane 
and James H., children of his daughter Elizabeth. 

Erastus Hayes came from Otsego County to 
Homer in 1807 and to Spafford in 1827.^ 

John McDaniels, son of Timothy, died April, 1873, 
age 82 years. According to family tradition Timothy 
McDaniels came to this country from Ireland and 
settled in New York, where he died of Asiatic cholera, 
leaving two small children, John and Bridget, who after 
his decease were taken to Goshen, New York, Orange 

^ Spafford Mortuary Records, Collins. = Ibid. 

226 



Spafford 227 

County, and reared in the family of Judge Wickham. 
Subsequently the daughter Bridget married George 
D. Wickham, the only child and heir of her foster 
father Judge Wickham. George D. became a large 
landholder and among his other possessions owned 
the principal part of Lots 44 Tully and Lot 14 Sem- 
pronius in this town, and at an early date John 
McDaniels, under a contract from his brother-in-law 
Mr. Wickham, settled on the latter of said lots and 
then on 100 acres on the northwest corner of the 
former said lots where he remained until the date 
of his decease. Before coming to this town Mr. 
McDaniels, born July 15, 1790, married Polly Hawkins 
and by her had the following children— Eliza A., born 
1812; George W., 1814; Caroline B., 1816; Emily B., 
1818; John Nelson, 1822; Bridget, 1824; Benjamin, 
1826; Julia A., 1829; Richard H., 1831; Edgar B., 
1833, and Mary, 1835. Polly Hawkins McDaniels 
died 1882, age 84.^ 

James McDuffee was an Irishman and by trade a 
carpenter. His daughter Ruth died 1 840. ^ (Borodino.) 

Nancy Wallace Nesbit was born in Ireland and 
was the sister of John Wallace and Matilda Wallace, 
wife of Alexander Gordon, all of this town. Her 
husband Robert Nesbit died in Canada. She was the 
mother of James and William Nesbit, both residents 
of this town, the latter being a member of Co. G, 
149th. Reg. N. Y. Vols.^ 

William O'Farrell died 1863, age 79. He came 
to this town before 18 14 and settled on Lot 24 Tully 

' Spafford Mortuary Records, Collins. 



228 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

in Spafford Hollow. By his wife Dinah he had 
Elihu, Francis A., William M., Esther, David, John 
W., Maria, Catharine, Caroline, and Henry. Mr. 
O'Farrell was a man of prominence in town affairs 
and at various times held responsible town offices 
from Supervisor to Justice.^ 

There was another William O'Farrell also in 
Spafford Hollow.^ 

James Shaw for miny years before his decease 
resided near the westerly line of Lot 45 in the town of 
Tully in Shawville and kept a small store at that 
place. He had a very respectable family of girls who 
married into well-known Spafford families. Died 
1858, age 63 years. ^ 

Mary, wife of John Walch, died at Thorn Hill 
1837, age 57. 
James Fitzgerald came to Spafford in 1806. 
John Wallace came to Spafford in 1836. 
Jason Gleason came to Spafford in 1801. 
Sam McClure came in 1804. 
John Hunt came in 1806.^ 

George K. Collins records^; 

In an application for a pension by Daniel Owen 
of Spafford dated September i, 1820, he makes the 
following claim: that he served in the war of the 
Revolution as a member of the company of Captain 
William Hall in the regiment commanded by Colonel 
Charles Webb of Connecticut troops in the service of 
the United States ; that he served for the period of one 

' Spafford Mortuary Records, Collins. 



Spafford 229 

year and was discharged at Morristown, N. Y., in 1776; 
that he had a wife Lydia and a daughter and grand- 
daughter who resided with him in Spafford. Mr. Owen 
purchased on March 17, 1824, eighteen acres of land 
on the nunnery road on Lot 12 Sempronius which were 
afterwards conveyed by his widow. After his decease 
his pension was continued to his widow who was on the 
pension list of 1841-42 and therein described as of 
Spafford. Timothy Owen died April, 1878, in his 
92d year. In an obituary notice published at the 
time of his death it stated that he was born at Tyring- 
ham, Massachusetts, and moved with his parents to 
Navarino, N. Y., when he was fifteen years of age. 
Two years later he worked clearing land at the foot 
of Skaneateles Lake where the village of that name 
now stands. He then went to Sempronius where 
he lived four years and then bought the farm known as 
the Owen farm, one and one half miles north of 
Spafford Corners, where he resided until 1857; he then 
moved to Borodino, where he lived until his death. 
By his wife Lydia he had one daughter, Polly Ann, 
who married George W. Breed. 

John Ford came before 1821. 

Burnett Carroll came before 1823. 

Richard Callender was a native of Ireland who came 
to America when a boy and spent most of his days 
in Henrietta.^ 

Clark says ^: 

The first settler in that part of the town taken 
from Tully was Jonathan Berry and is still living a 

^ Bruce. » Clark, vol. ii., p. 349. 



230 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

resident of the town. He first settled a short distance 
south of the village of Borodino, in March, 1803. 
In April the same year, Archibald Farr located 
himself on the southwest corner of Lot number 
eleven. 

To facilitate the progress of Mr. Farr s imigration, 
Berry sent his teams and men to clear out a road, that 
Farr might proceed to his place of destination. This 
was the first road attempted to be made within the 
limits of the town, and is the same that now leads from 
Spafford Corners to Borodino. 

Morris Geer was born in Ireland. He married 
Mrs. Joanna Dunn and had one son, James Geer, of 
Syracuse. Morris died in 1888, age 90 years. ^ 

Charles McCansey was born in Washington 
County, 1816, the son of James and Lydia Mitchell 
McCansey, both natives of Connecticut who came 
to Spafford. The maternal grandfather, William 
Mitchell, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The 
paternal grandfather, James McCansey, was a Tory 
and his farm of 600 acres was confiscated. ^ 

^ Collins. * Bruce. 



VIII 
SKANEATELES 

David Welch 

THE veteran David Welch came to Skaneateles 
from Fort Ann, Washington County, in 1798 
and settled on Lot 73. He was a private in the 
Revolution and was in the battle of Bennington, 
where he received a wound in the shoulder. He 
built the first frame barn in the town in 1800.^ 

Samuel Welch 

Samuel Welch, brother of David, came here in 1800 
from the same place. He was born in 1773, was 
twenty-seven years old when he came, and arrived 
here in the month of March with two yoke of oxen 
and a wooden shod sled. His son Samuel was then 
three years old. He came by way of Oneida and 
through Marcellus. He served in the War of 1812. 
Frame barn was built for him in 1 804. Samuel Welch, 
Jr., later in Auburn.^ 

Captain Welch kept the first tavern in 1795. He 
was captain of militia.^ 

'F. H. Chase. » E. N.Leslie. 

231 



232 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

E. N. Leslie writing of the period 1 800-1810 
says: 

An Irishman was a curiosity in those days. There 
were no Irish women. 

In another page Leslie says^: 

The first tailors in this section were an old English- 
man ( !) named O'Keefe and his son in Skaneateles. His 
shop was near the big elm-tree, corner of Jordan 
and Academy streets. 

A Miss Hall and Miss Gleason afterwards taught 
school in this first (log) schoolhouse. ^ 

Dr. Israel Parsons relates: 

Mrs. Cody, the grandmother of Hiram Reed, came 
from Massachusetts some time before the year 1800 
alone and on horseback. She was a widow, and this 
was her prospecting tour for a home in this, at that 
period, great wilderness. After reaching this part 
of the State she rode around viewing portions 
of the town and finally made a purchase of six hundred 
and forty acres, the northeastern corner of which 
afterwards included what is now Clintonville. 

John Walsh 

It was early in the War of Independence that 
John Walsh of Skaneateles enlisted and his 
service lasted until peace was declared. In 1775 
he enlisted in Col. Paul Dudley Loyrant's regiment, 
in Captain William Scott's company, and served 

» E. N. Leslie. 



Skaneateles 2^3 

as a private for six months. In the spring of 1 776 
he enHsted in Colonel Van Schaick's regiment, Cap- 
tain John Vader's company, for six months and 
served for that time in making roads from Albany 
to Lake George. Then, in the fall of 1776 he 
enlisted until the end of the war in Colonel Van 
Schaick's regiment, in Captain John Copp's 
company, and served afterwards in Captain 
Parson's company until his discharge in 1783. A 
part of this time the veteran did sergeant's duty, 
Walsh said in 1821 that he was 81 years old, that he 
had absolutely no property, was blind and lived 
on the charity of his friends. ^ 

James Ennis and Timothy Coleman were early 
settlers on Lots 35 and 37.^ 

Among the early settlers before 1803 E. N. 
Leslie names : 

Richard Berry, farmer, on J. L. Mason farm. 

John Burnes, farmer. 

Eleazer Burns, Marcellus, potash boiler for John 
Meeker and lived on place of John Burns, Jr. 

Joseph Cody built and kept the first tavern in 
Clintonville as early as 1806. He was a farmer. 

Jacobus Ennis owned and lived very early on the 
Lapham place. 

John Fitzgerald, farmer, east side of the lake. 

Amasa Gleason, painter, 

David Hall came to this town in March, 1806. 

' F. H. Chase. 
* Bruce. 



234 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Ezra Lane, school teacher before 1807. 

Ezra Lee, farmer, had a wood boat on the lake. 

Daniel McKay, farmer and mason. 

James McKee, farmer on Lot No. 84. 

Henry Millhollen, well-digger, lived near Borodino. 

Thomas Read, farmer, on West Lake road. 

Samuel Shaw, lived at Mottville. 

Seth McKay, property owner. 

Early settlers before 1 8 15 according to Leslie 
are^: 

Elijah Cody, farmer, near Clintonville. 
James Daggett, teamster between Albany and 
Skaneateles, lived in the gulf near Guppy's. 

James Dayley, farmer, moved to Ohio and went into 
the counterfeit business there. 

John Dayley, farmer, turned Mormon and left 
town. 

Moses Dayley, farmer, turned Mormon and left 
for Ohio. 

Charles Glynn, well digger, west side of the lake. 
Simon McKay, hatter, carpenter, and joiner. 

James Ennis was a witness to a legal form here in 

the year 1800. He married Hannah, daughter of 

Abraham A. Cuddeback, the earliest settler in this 
town. ^ 

There was very early a log house erected on this 
(Mill) Point. Granny Beebe lived in it for many 
years. After her death a man by the name of Mc- 
Mullen lived in it. His wife, Katy McMullen, worked 
for many people. ^ 

' E. N. Leslie. => Ibid. 3 Ibid. 



Skaneateles 235 

In 1829 James McCray made to order the Douglas 
patent threshing machine.^ 

Bernard (Brine) and Nancy O'Connor came to 
Skaneateles from the north of Ireland in 1832. Their 
son William O'Connor was bom in 1840 and came to 
Syracuse in 1858.^ 

James D. Feeley was born in Ireland in 1841 and 
came to Skaneateles in 1846. He married Hannah 
Dee of Rome.^ 

Andrew and Sarah (Gray) Gamble of Ireland 
settled in Skaneateles in 1832. Their son John came 
at the age of eleven years.'' 

John McKinney came to Mandana from Done- 
gal, Parish of Desertegny, about 1840 or a few 
years earlier or later. His sister Anne came with 
her husband, James McLaughlin, in 1847. 

John McGinnis, a farmer, located in Skaneateles 
before 1844. 

Michael Bradley came from Cork about 1844 to 
visit his uncle John Bradley in Syracuse and then 
came to Skaneateles. 

James McLaughlin 

James McLaughlin was the first of the family 
to come to America and Skaneateles. He was 

' E. N. Leslie. 3 Ibid. 

' Bruce. ■» Ibid. 



236 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

born in Linsford Glebe, near Buncrana in the 
Parish of Desertegny, Donegal. He married Anne 
McKinney of the same parish. From the shores 
of Lough Swilly to Londonderry they travelled 
and sailed to Liverpool to embark for America in 
the year 1847. 

Linsford Glebe was a portion of land rented to 
tenants for the support of a Protestant minister. 
Bible readers travelled through the country under 
favor of the government. 

The grandparents of Cardinal Logue lived in 
this neighborhood. The mother of James Gillespie 
Blaine, Maria Gillespie, a loyal Catholic and 
patriotic Irish girl, lived across a small stream from 
the McLaughlins. She was one of a family of 
eight daughters and one son. 

The brothers and sisters of James McLaughlin, 
the children of William, followed him to America, 
all but Mary, who went to England. They are: 
John, who married first Mary McGrory of his 
own parish and later Mary Casey ; Elizabeth, who 
married Patrick Doherty of the same parish; 
Ellen, who married Timothy Donohue, Kanturk, 
Cork; Hugh, who married Mary McCrady, 
Queen's County; Catharine, who married Patrick 
Curtin, Limerick; William, who married Mary 
McHugh, Fannett, Donegal; and Cornelius, who 
came to America but returned to Ireland. 



M 



IX 

MARCELLUS 

Martin Dolan 

ARTIN DOLAN was the oldest of ten 
children of Martin and Ellen Kelley 
Dolan, Parish of Drum, County Roscommon. 
There were too many boys for the size of the 
farm and Martin was the first to emigrate, the 
first of sixty or more members of his family who 
came to Onondaga. He left in Ireland more than 
family ties. He left Mary, the daughter of 
Jeremiah and Margaret Murray Lannon. For 
Martin Dolan and Mary Lannon were children 
together in the same parish of Drum and grew 
up together. But, in a country where marriages 
are arranged by the parents, the love of a maid and 
a man is often thwarted. Among the love songs 
of Ireland are the farewell serenade of the hopeless 
lover, the moan of an unwilling bride, and the 
other little tragedies of love. Then there are the 
joyous notes when lovers meet by chance, or 
exchange a glance in the chapel yard on a Sunday 
or a whisper in the dance on the green; for when 
opportunity for courtship is wanting, Love's free 

237 



238 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

faculties are exalted and speak in a glance or a smile 
and are understood. Love finds a way and youth 
its mate. One emigrates and the other follows, 
and beyond the seas each finds a welcome among 
the friends they knew at home. 

Martin found rough sailing in his nine weeks on 
the ocean. Four different times were the passengers 
locked in the cabin to await the wrecking of their 
ship. There were heartrending scenes and heart- 
felt prayers. There was the despair of parents 
who had left their children behind them, and of 
children who had parted from their parents for 
the first time. Here a wife journeying to meet 
her husband clasped to her agonized breast their 
child whose face he had never seen. There a man 
knelt upon all his earthly possessions, shouting his 
confession of sin, beating his breast, and imploring 
mercy. Yonder a fearless and careless soul passed 
with a smile and a joke to keep the mind from 
madness. But tears and prayers happily were 
changed to laughter and thanksgiving when the 
sun shone again and the sea was calm. 

Martin was a farmer and cattle raiser like his 
father before him. In New York he worked at 
various things, including the construction of the 
Astor House. He became expert in some branches 
which later were of value by increasing his income 
as a farmer. 

Meanwhile Mary too had left the land of her 
birth and these grown-up children of the Parish 
of Drum spoke freely together and learned their 



Marcellus 239 

own hearts, and the romance of yesterday and of 
to-day and to-morrow was told in the marriage 
of Martin and Mary. 

They spent several years in New York City and 
came to Onondaga in 1848, locating first in 
Marcellus and eventually on a farm near Mont- 
f reedy in beautiful Cedarvale. 

One of their children, Mary Ann, married 
Bernard, son of Bernard and Ann Powell. They 
have one adopted child, Clara Dolan. Their 
daughter Sarah, married John H., son of Bernard 
and Ann Powell. Their children are Frank Dolan, 
Leo, and Clara Dolan Powell; Margaret E., who 
married John, the son of John and Alice Connors 
Fraser, Port Byron. Their children are Theresa, 
Alice, and Sarah; Theresa; Thomas Francis, who 
married Mary, daughter of Simon and Bridget 
Long Reidy. Their children are Mary Agnes and 
T. Francis, Jr.; Agnes I., who married Edward, son 
of Patrick and Bridget Roach Mulroy. Their 
children are Francis, Leo, and Emmet. 

Robert McHale 

Robert McHale, now more than fourscore years 
of age, came from Kilcommon, County Mayo, when 
seventeen years old and has spent most of his life 
in Marcellus. He married Nora Burke. 

The men he knew as old-time residents and be- 
lieved to be the first Irishmen in the town were 
John McNally, Thomas Kelly, John Leahy, 



240 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Michael Melia, Peter Coyne, John Kirwin, Patrick 
McLaughHn. Others who came before 1847 were 
Thomas Hogan, Daniel Purcell, Bernard Powell, 
Patrick McCarthy, William Dolan and his wife, 
Mary Flannery, and Mrs. William Hackett 
(born Gleason). 

Robert McCulloch 

Robert McCulloch gave employment to Robert 
McHale for a time. The son of McCulloch married 
Miss Dunbar; his daughter Amanda married 
Edward Austin; and his daughter Mary married 
Harry Fellows. 

John McNally 

When John McNally, twenty-one years old, 
came to Marcellus, his fortune consisted of half-a- 
crown, which he idly flipped. It fell and a child 
picked it up and John let him keep it and went to 
work. He served in the militia at Sacketts 
Harbor. His wife was the adopted daughter 
of George Dunlap. Their sons are Robert and 
James. Dunlap served in the militia as a sub- 
stitute. He was most industrious and became an 
owner of much land. 

Ella Cody married a man named Russell. 

William Dolan 

William Dolan came from King's County to 



Marcellus 241 

New York about 1840 and to Marcellus sometime 
later. His wife Mary Flamiery was from Athlone. 
Their children are Keryon, William J., James E.; 
Anne, who married Maurice Donohue; Elizabeth, 
who married William Hackett; other children. 

James E. Dolan is a prominent member of the 
Ancient Order of Hibernians, having held the office 
of National President. 

Joseph Coy 

From the first of December, 1775, to the 3d 
of January, 1777, the soldier Joseph Coy served 
in Captain Jedediah Waterman's company, Col. 
John Durkee's regiment. He was 79 years old in 
1820. Coy was formerly a shoemaker.^ 

Dr. Israel Parsons was close to the people of 
Marcellus for many years. He recounts: 

Among the pioneers was Robert McCulloch. His 
father emigrated from Ireland to Pelham, Mass., 
where his son Robert was born in October, 1759. 
Robert came to this place in 1805 or 1806, and finally 
owned and occupied the farm on which he died at the 
advanced age of ninety-seven. One strange fact be- 
longs to the life of Mr. McCulloch — ^he never was sick. 
He used to boast that thus far he never had been laid by 
a day on account of illness, and that no physician had 
ever been called to see him, and these proved true to 
the last; for he fell headlong down the cellar stairs 
and was instantly killed. A physician was summoned, 

» F. H. Chase. 



242 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

yet it was but to look upon his dead body. Mr. 
McCulloch was temperate in everything, a very 
pleasant man, scrupulously honest, and desirous to 
perform manual labor every day of his life except on 
Sunday. 

The same year (1794) one family by the name of 
Cody located at Clintonville not far from the centre 
of the town.' 

Parsons gives the story of Mrs. Cody, who came 
from Massachusetts on horseback before 1800 and 
bought land near Clintonville. He does not state 
that the two families' were 'related or that there 
were two families or only one by the name of 
Cody. Among his notes are these references to 
men of Irish blood : 

Nathan Healy came to Marcellus about 1800. 

The first settlement made in the southwest part 
of the town on the Turnpike was by P. E. Howe and 
Samuel Hayes. Mr. Hayes moved to the West and 
in 1806 his farm was occupied by another. 

Among the names of those pledged to support the 
church in 1807 are: William Macken, Nathan Healy, 
Robert McCulloch, George McCulloch, Charles 
Mullon and Lewis Kennedy. 

Dr. Parsons, whose father was at that time the 
minister in charge of the church, comments : 

Here we have an instrument, carefully and judicially 
drawn up. Great caution was used lest it be encum- 

' Parsons. 



Marcellus 243 

bered with anything that should tend to excite 
sectarian prejudices. They could not afford in this 
forest home to be a divided people. Their distance 
from the home of their nativity inclined them to band 
together for every good purpose. 

Parsons gives this story of George Dunlap : 

Three brothers, George, Adam, and John Dunlap, 
emigrated from Ireland to the United vStatcs in 1811. 
George went to Virginia and hired out as a laborer to 
a cousin, a planter. The situation in which he was 
placed in the family of his cousin seemed quite strange 
to him, for he did not previously know the views that 
the slave-holding portion of the South entertained in 
regard to laborers whether white or colored. They 
looked upon them as an inferior creation of the human 
family. Consequently cousin George was assigned 
his place with the slaves at meal-time. Although this 
was a surprise to him yet he held his peace, for he felt 
himself to be in a foreign land, far away from home and 
friends. Not wishing to be dependent, and receiving 
suitable wages, he thought best to remain where he 
was, and fill his situation honorably until he should 
have accumulated sufficient money to enable him safely 
to look elsewhere for a home. When that condition 
was attained, he bade good-bye to his cousin and came 
North. The first year he lived with Judge Dill of 
Camillus. After that he came into this town and 
hired out in different places as he could find opportun- 
ity. Being a strong robust man, and industrious in his 
habits, he performed labor with a will and a power that 
few could equal. 

The next we hear of him he has married a Miss 



244 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Gillespie and has made his residence in Pumpkin 
Hollow on forty or fifty acres of land. He goes on 
adding farm to farm until he becomes the greatest land- 
holder not merely in the Hollow but almost in the town, 
his farm containing in one plot five hundred and 
seventy-two acres and this in the Eden of otir town. 
The strange name Pumpkin Hollow was given to this 
section in an early day on account of the luxuriant 
growth of pumpkins which year by year it produced 
wherever planted. As fast as Mr. Dunlap procured 
new land he beautified and adorned it by nice hus- 
bandry so that by the time be became sole possessor 
of that large plot of land amounting to full half the 
Hollow, this, together with its overhanging hills of 
evergreen forests, gave it the appearance more of a 
garden or park than of an ordinary farm. 

Mr. Dunlap was permitted to live to a good old 
age to enjoy the fruits of his faithful toils and often in 
his last days he spoke of his gratitude to God for thus 
crowning his labors with such success. He was a 
member of the Presbyterian church during the last 
twenty years of his life. His last days were his best 
days and he died at the advanced age of seventy-nine. 

Our Irish population, now so numerous, appeared 
among us in 1834 ^^ ^^^ person of John McNalley. In 
1837 three or four famiHes separated themselves from 
the company who had been engaged in building our 
railroad enbankment and located themselves in the 
northeast portion of our town. There were few if 
any accessions to their number until about 1848 when 
emigration from Ireland to this country swelled to a 
tide.^ 

' Parsons. 



Marcellus 245 

Mr. O'Farrell was singing master before 1844.^ 

Thomas Kyne came to America from Ireland 
about 1840, and settled in Marcellus. His son 
John L. Kyne was born there in 1855. 

Bruce gives a sketch of George Nelson 
Kennedy * : 

George Nelson Kennedy was bom in Marcellus in 
1822 and descends on his mother's side from the 
Puritan settlers of New England. His paternal 
grandfather, George Kennedy, Sr., emigrated from 
Ireland to America in 1760 and with his maternal 
grandfather, Ebenezer Dibble, participated in the 
Revolutionary War and in the battle of Saratoga, where 
his mother's grandfather was killed. His father, 
George Kennedy, Jr., came from Saratoga County to 
Marcellus about 18 16 and in 1831 removed with his 
family to Skaneateles, where he remained three years 
that his children might have the advantages of the 
academy there. 

He became a State Senator and Justice of the Su- 
preme Court of the Fifth District of New York. 

Richard Callender was a native of Ireland who 
came to America when a boy and spent most of his days 
in Marietta, where his son, Richard Callender, Jr., was 
born in 1822. Richard, Jr., married Mary A. Hicks, 
who was born in Dutchess County in 1826. Their son 
Francis R. was born in Marcellus in 1863.^ 

John C. Kennedy, Marcellus, was born in Syracuse, 

* Parsons. 

' Onondaga's Centennial. 

3 Ibid. 



246 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

1846, son of John and Catharine Kennedy. His wife, 
is Catharine Conry.^ 

Thomas Ward and Patrick Egan came soon 
after 1840. 

Clark says:^ 

James C. Millen and his sons were the first perma- 
nent settlers in the northeast section of the town. He 
and six sons, except one, all died within a short time 
afterwards. 

' Onondaga's Centennial. ^ J. V. H. Clark. 



X 

LAFAYETTE 
Thomas Dixon 

THOMAS DIXON of Lafayette one of the last sur- 
vivors of Colonel Lamb's regiment of artillery, 
formed for the defence of the New York frontier 
in 1781.* 

Thomas Dixon died in 1850 about one year after 
Clark's Onondaga was published. 

The balloting book of the Military Tract shows that 
Thomas " Dixson" drew Lot #4 in the town of Pompey 
— northwest corner of the present town. Clark says 
that in 1848 he was one of the four and only survivors 
of Colonel Lamb's regiment of artillery. He then 
lived just over the line in the town of Lafayette. In 
1840 he was eighty years old.^ 

Thomas Dixon cut his way through the forests 
and arrived on his claim in the Military Tract, June 
6, 1790, at six o'clock in the evening. His claim 
consisted of 600 acres and he had bought another 
soldier's claim for a pitcher of cider nogg. 

' J. V. H. Clark. ^ F. H. Chase. 

247 



248 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Thomas Dixon was born in County Antrim, 
Ireland, in 1 760 and was an only child. His father 
was killed in battle and his mother died of grief 
shortly after. His uncle, his father's brother, fled 
from his native land and took the three-year-old 
orphan Thomas with him. They went first 
to Scotland, thence to France, and then to Rhode 
Island. Thomas enlisted three times before he 
was sixteen but his uncle each time secured his 
release. He was allowed to enlist at last when 
he had reached the age of sixteen. He was at 
Valley Forge, Yorktown, and served in Captain 
Hamilton's battery, Colonel Lamb's regiment of 
artillery. 

Thomas Dixon married Amy Knapp and lived 
sixty years on his soldier's claim. His son 
Thomas, Jr., lived there eighty-seven years and his 
grandson seventy-three years up to the present 
(1908). There are now four living generations of 
this Irish pioneer. When he cleared his lot and 
built his house, there were not many people in 
this territory and everybody burned green wood. 
When Thomas climbed the hilltop in the morning 
and looked around in all directions he counted 
fifteen columns of smoke. When he wanted flour 
he walked to Whitesboro to the mill. In time he 
cut down a pine tree and hollowed it out by fire 
and ground his own grain. As his children grew 
up, they took their part in pioneer work. The 
cleared portions were surrounded by hedges or 
brushwood fences. When the boys wanted fresh 



Lafayette 249 

meat, they beat the bushes at night and gathered 
up the game: or with long poles whacked the 
sleeping pigeons from their perches in the trees. 
Ploughing with the iron-tipped wooden plough- 
share, they unearthed copper kettles, arrows, etc., 
in so great numbers that they soon ceased to be 
noticed. Threshing was all done with the flail. 

Thomas Dixon, Jr., married Eriimeline Alvord. 
Their son George enlisted April 29, 1861, in 12th 
N. Y. Vol. Infantry. He left his wife and one 
child at home. He received $11 a month. Dur- 
ing the war he was in the same trenches his grand- 
father had occupied during the Revolution. 

"A log tavern kept by James Higgins was succeeded 
by a frame dwelling built by settlers of 1804."^ 

"Among the settlers of 1794 was Reuben Bryan. 
He was the father of Hon. John A. Bryan who served 
in the State Legislature and was Assistant Postmaster- 
General under President Tyler's administration."^ 

John Shaw came to Lafayette in an early day 
and cleared a farm. His son Henry, born in 
Saratoga County, in 181 1, and his grandson 
George H. were residents of this County. 

TheConnell family, which later branched out into 
other towns of the County, particularly Clay and 
Lysander, seems to have been established first in 
Lafayette by Peter Connell, in 18 10. He had 

' D. H. Bruce. ' J. V. H. Clark. 



250 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

two brothers, Edward, born in Lafayette in 1818, 
and Isaac Connell. He removed to Clay before 
1826. For many years the family was active in 
the business life in Baldwinsville. Edward spent 
his early life in hard work, clearing up the forests 
near North Syracuse in the town of Clay. He 
was in mercantile business in Baldwinsville until 
1882. 

The members of the McMillen family whose 
names are recorded are James and Joseph, who 
were carpenters, Asa, and Peter. Another record 
says that Joseph served on board the frigate 
Warren with his brother Peter. There is nothing 
to indicate their ancestry. 



XI 

CAMILLUS 

THE electoral franchise in 1807 was limited to 
landholders and tenants and from a census of 
electors in that year the residents are known. 
Among the names are several who may have been 
Irish, and the following: Peter Delaney, Eber 
Hart, George Kane, William Kelley, John Martin, 
James McGlochlan, Daniel McQueen, Peter Mc- 
Queen, Samuel Powers, William Reed, Daniel 
Savage, and Michael Shannon. 

In the assessment roll of 1825 are these names, 
with John Larkin, Collector: Simeon Berry, 
Daniel Fox, Martin M. Ford, William S. Geer, 
Darius Gleason, Jerry, John, Reuben, and Mander 
Hand, William N. Higgins, Walter Hunt, John 
Peak, Thomas Owen, William Reed, and Hannah 
Shannon. 

In 1 81 7 a meeting was held at John Larkin 's 
house. 

Richard Tobin was a native of County Cork, 
Ireland, and came to the United States in 1832 and 
engaged in the construction of the railroad from 

251 



252 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Syracuse to Auburn. He also followed farming. His 
son Michael was born in Camillus in 1837. ^ 

In the biographical notes Beauchamp writes:^ 

Patrick Fennell and his wife Helen McCarthy were 
natives of Ireland. Patrick came to America in early 
life. He worked on the construction of the railroad 
from Syracuse to Auburn. His son Martin was born 
in Camillus in 1842. 

Michael Coakley, Camillus, was born in Canada 
in 1839, son of Michael and Catharine Darrow Coakley, 
natives of Ireland. In 1847 the father died in Canada 
and the next year the mother with her six children 
came to Syracuse. From the age of ten to twenty-two 
Michael Coakley worked on the canal and from then 
until 1872 owned a boat, and thereafter was engaged 
.chiefly in the grocery business. 

Edwin D. Larkin was born in Memphis, New York. 
He was of English and Irish extraction but the 
family was established in America prior to the Revolu- 
tionary War. 

' D. H. Bruce. 

* History of Syracuse and Onondaga County. 



XII 

ELBRIDGE 

IN 1 80 1 the first frame schoolhouse in town was 
erected in Elbridge village and in it John Healy 
taught the first term of school.^ 

Deacon Isaac Hill was bom in Ireland in 1781, 
came here alone in 1809, and with his family in 
1 8 10, and established at Elbridge the second store 
in town. He came from the same place and, it is 
believed, at the same time as James Glass. 

James Glass came from County Armagh, Ire- 
land, and settled in what is now Elbridge in 1807. 
He cleared a small plot of. ground and built a log 
cabin, then returned to Ireland, and married 
Christina Jenkinson, and with his bride, his 
parents, and his brothers Alexander and William 
returned to his woodland home. James Glass was 
the son of James and Margaret Glass. There is 
a tradition in the family that he witnessed the trial 
trip of Fulton's steamboat. His children are 
Margaret, who married Horace Sunderlin; Joseph 
J., who married Sarah Eliza Toll; James, who 
married Miss Sheldon; Letitia; Martha, who 

' D. H. Bruce. 

253 



254 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

married Hiram Reed, and Oliver, who married 
Maria Mitchell. Joseph J. was born in 1810 and 
for many years carried on a large mercantile and 
grain business at Memphis. He was adjutant in 
the militia 1829-33. Edgar Patterson Glass, son 
of Joseph J. and Sarah Toll Glass, was bom in 
1849. He married Henrietta Jessup and their 
children are : Joseph Jessup, Edgar Toll, and Emily 
Julia. He has been Surrogate of Onondaga for 
many years. 

In the assessment roll of 1825 are the following 
names: William Dunn, William Lane, Thomas 
Ferrel, John Healy, Hugh McMullen, Thomas 
Morgan, Joseph Malorey, Alexander Glass, 
William Glass, James Glass, Jr., Isaac Hill, 
John McGown, David McKee, Richard Mc- 
Claughry, Daniel Powel, and Comer Welch. 

A. G. Graham of Elbridge was born in Cayuga 
County in 1 8 1 7 . His father Henry was bom in Orange 
County and his grandfather Graham came from the 
north of Ireland. He was next to the youngest of 
twelve children. In 1 844 he married at Elbridge Marie, 
daughter of Col. John Stevens and granddaughter of 
Col. William Stevens, who was an officer through the 
whole Revolution and who settled in Elbridge in 1793. 

» D. H. Bruce. 



XIII 
OTISCO 

WILLIAM TOBIN was in Otisco before 1850. 
He was the son of John and Mary Hickey 
Tobin, parish of Castle Island, County Kerry. 
The other children of the family came to Otisco 
after William. They are: William, who married 
Mary McGuire; IMary, who married John Long; 
John, who married Ann Sullivan; Richard, who 
married Joanna Kinney; Patrick, who married 
Ellen Ready ; Julia, who married Patrick Kinsella ; 
and Cornelius, who married Martha McGuire. 

The children of Richard and Joanna Kinney 
Tobin are: Mary, who married Michael Lucid; 
Sarah, who married Dennis Curtin. Their other 
children are Julia, Ellen, James, John, Bessie, and 
Kate, the four first of whom went to California. 

John Hutchinson, an Irishman, and his family 
lived in Otisco, on the south side, about 1820. 
He worked for different farmers, among whom 
was Edward Hunt. Sumner Lyman Hunt, now 
ninety-four years old, the son of Edward and 
Eunice Clapp Hunt, remembers John Hutchinson 
and the several children of his family. Sumner 
came to Geddes about 1831 and was in at the 
death of the last deer in that region near Onondaga 

255 



256 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Lake. He was a teacher as well as a mason by 
trade and constructed many buildings in Syracuse. 

John Long came to Otisco in 1847. 

Otisco was organized in 1806. Its history is 
rather scant. 

Joseph D. Hopkins was the first supervisor of 
Otisco, 1806. 

Bruce writes ^ : 

In 1824 a meeting of citizens was held at the Lake 
House then kept by David Moore, and proceeded to 
organize the Amber Religious Society. The church 
was erected with the understanding that it should 
belong to no one denomination but should be for the 
use of any that desired it. 

In the war of 18 12 Heman Griffin enlisted from 
this to wn.^ 

Rev. J. V. Byrne in his history of the Catholic 
church in Otisco in 1906 writes: "Though there is a 
tradition that the Jesuit Fathers encamped on the 
shores of Otisco Lake many years previous, we have 
no definite knowledge of the existence of Catholicity 
in this section prior ^to 1850. These first Catholics 
not only found themselves in a strange land but also 
far removed from the source of their most cherished 
comfort, the Church. In order to attend Mass and to 
fulfil their other religious duties, for the first three 
years they were obliged to go to Syracuse. John 

^Onondaga's Centennial. 'Ibid, 



Otisco 257 

Shea, now of St. Leo's parish, worked for Samuel B. 
Searles on Dutch Hill, at this time, and about twice 
a year he secured a team from him and took the 
Longs, Planigans, Tobins, and William Donovan with 
him to Syracuse. It was their custom to go on the 
eve of Christmas and Easter and remain until after 
Mass on the following feasts. Many came in the 
following years. ' 

• W. P. H. Hewitt. 

17 



XIV 
TULLY 

THE first Catholic resident of Tully was Mrs. 
Patrick Donivan, who came here about 1848. 
Soon after that year the record gives the names of 
very many Irish families. ^ 

The first settler in this town was David Owen, who 
came here in 1795. The first log house in town was 
built by David Owen. 

Owen was followed by Phineas Henderson. 
Peter Henderson was the first child born in the town, 
1796.=' 

Bruce has these notes and biographical sketches ^ : 

Among the settlers who also arrived about 1801 
was Edward Cummings. 

Hugh Reed, Supervisor, 1825. 

John Henderson, Postmaster. 

Matthew D. Cummings before 1850. 

"Thomas I. Butler was born in Preble, 1867, the 
third child of Roscoe and Catharine Gleason Butler, 
he a native of Preble, born in 1835, and his wife 
a native of Ireland. The grandfather of Thomas I. 
was Thomas, a native of Connecticut, who came to 

' W. P. H. Hewitt. 
= J. V. H. Clark. 
3 Dwight H. Bruce. 

258 



Tully 



259 



Preble In a very early day and there lived most of his 
days though he died in Tully. The father of Thomas 
I. was prominent in local affairs, having served as 
assessor fifteen years, besides other offices. 

Sullivan A. Carr was born in Tully in 1843, one of 
twelve children of Almon and Arethusa Morse Carr. 
His grandparents were Amos and Mary King Carr. 
His great-grandfather, Amos Carr, the founder of the 
family in this country, was stolen from Ireland and 
brought here when four years old. His son Amos was 
born in Litchfield, Conn., and came to Tully in 1842. 
Almon Carr was born in Massachusetts in 1800. 
He was a mason by trade and also owned a farm. 
Sullivan A. has had various experiences and an 
interesting life. 



XV 

POMPEY 

Ebenezer Butler 

EBENEZER BUTLER, Sr., who accompanied his 
son, Ebenezer, in making the first white settle- 
ment at Pompey Hill, was born in December, 1733. He 
was grandson to Jonathan Butler, one of two Irish 
adventurers who came to Connecticut about the 
year 17 10; he served with the Connecticut troops 
against the French in the French and Indian war; he 
was with Washington in the Revolution ; and also in a 
detachment called out to suppress "The Shays 
Rebellion" in 1787. Although a farmer by occupa- 
tion, after locating in Pompey he took little part in 
business life; he was a religious man and took a very 
active part in organizing the first church established in 
Pompey, being chosen one of its trustees. The church 
or religious society was formed June 16, 1794, and was 
called "The First Presbyterian Society of Pompey." 
He was also a member of the church subsequently 
organized in 1800 under the name of the "First 
Congregational Church of the Town of Pompey." 
He lived in Pompey till his death, which occurred in 
1829, enjoying in an unusual degree that choicest 
of Heaven's temporal blessings — good health. He 

260 



Pompey 261 

never was ill, and died at the age of ninety-six years, 
falling dead with a quantity of wood in his arms which 
he had just been preparing for the fire.^ 

Ebenezer Butler, Jr. 

Ebenezer Butler, Junior, the first white settler at 
Pompey Hill and within the limits of the present 
township, was born at Harwinton, Connecticut, in 1761. 
He served as did his father in the Revolutionary War. 
He was taken prisoner and suffered all the hardships 
and cruelties imposed by the British upon those un- 
fortunates who were confined on board the "Prison 
Ships" in New York harbor. After his release and at 
the close of the war he returned to his native town, 
married Miss Rebecca Davis, and moved to Clinton, 
Oneida County, N. Y. When located there he bought 
a soldier's claim to Lot No. 65 of the town of Pompey. 
Tradition says he bought Lot 65 of a soldier for a horse, 
saddle, and bridle. In 1791 or 1792 he moved with 
his family consisting of his wife and four daughters, 
his father aged about sixty years, and a maiden sister 
Mary, who afterwards married Rufus JohnvSon, to, and 
made a settlement upon this lot, at what is now 
Pompey Hill. He built a log house for himself, an- 
other for his father and sister. He afterwards in 1797 
put up the first frame building in this vicinity and here 
kept a hotel (tavern) for a number of years. He was 
largely engaged in buying and selling real estate and 
for many years also bought cattle in Central New 
York and drove them to Philadelphia market. Be- 
fore he came to Pompey in 1791 he was collector 
of the district of Whitestown. He was Supervisor of 

' Reunion and History of Pompey. 



262 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

the town of Pompey, Justice of the Peace, a member 
of the State Legislature, in 1799 and 1800, Judge of the 
County Court, and one of the first trustees of the 
Pompey Academy. He was associated with the first 
company formed for the manufacture of salt at 
Salina. He left Pompey in 1802 or 1803 and moved 
to Manlius until 181 1 and then moved to Central 
Ohio where his descendants rank among the first 
families of the State. He was known as Judge 
Butler and gave his name to the hill which was called 
Butler's hill until 181 1 when it became Pompey Hill. 
Jesse Butler, son of Ebenezer Butler, Sr., was born in 
Bradford, Conn., in 1764. He came to Pompey in the 
spring of 1792 and bought of his brother Ebenezer, Jr., 
one hundred acres of land. The next year he brought 
his family from Connecticut to make their home at 
Pompey Hill. His wife was Louisa Soper.^ 

The following notes of Pompey are extracus 
from the various authors of the Bibliography : 

According to the census of 1840 Benjamin Hayes 
was upon the pension rolls. He was then 82 years of 
age and the head of a family. 

Isaac Moore must have been but a mere lad when he 
enlisted in Capt. Isaac Hubbell's company. Col. Lamb's 
artillery regiment, for the War of Independence as he 
was but 56 years of age when he signed his application 
in 1820. He placed the value of all his property at 
$131 and debts which were owing him. 

William Dean was a church trustee in 1809. 
' Reunion and History of Pompey. 



Pompey 263 

Thomas Grimes was a church trustee in 18 10. His 
wife was Mary Grimes. 

William O'Farrell was church trustee in 1810. 

The first lawyer who settled in this town was 
Samuel Miles Hopkins, who made but a short stay. 
He afterwards moved to Geneseo and became quite a 
distinguished man. 

James and Samuel Curry located in Pompey about 
1800 on farms. 

The Lillys came about 1800. On the top of the hill 
they built a blacksmith shop and were for a long time 
the only as they were the, first blacksmiths who 
carried on this business in this locality. 

James McClure located in Delphi, 1792. 

Daniel McKeys was in a church organization in 
1796. Clark has the name Daniel Mark. 

Sally, wife of Philo McKay, died nine days after 
her son Henry in 1829. Epitaph. 

McEvers was an early settler in Pompey. 

In 1797 Mr. Savage settled at Delphi. 

John Pollock and wife, Elizabeth Cameron Pollock, 
came to Pompey early. He was a linen weaver from 
Londonderry, Ireland, but devoted himself to farming 
in Pompey. He was the son of John and Catharine 
Hunter Pollock. His son was John, born in Ireland, 
and his grandson Joseph C. was born in Pompey in 
1844. 



264 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

In March, 1835, Francis Murphy , a peddler returning 
from Cazenovia, sought shelter from the storm at 
the home of David F. Dodge. This incident led to 
the conversion to the Catholic faith of David Dodge 
and his wife Ada Roberts Dodge. Thereafter many 
Irish came to Pompey, finding protection in their 
religion in this influential family. It is an oft-told 
tale. 

Patrick Shields was an early settler at Delphi. He 
married the widow of Major Samuel Sherwood, who 
located on Lot 84 in 1795 and died in i8ii. 

An epitaph in Delphi Cemetery reads: 
John Shields 1 747-1832. 
Jane his wife 1 751-1839. 
Patrick Shields July 20, 1867. Age 91. 

Rev. James 0'Donnell,an Augustinian, officiated in 
Pompey in 1836. 

Jonathan Russell, 1794. 



XVI 

FABIUS 

FH. CHASE transcribes the military record of 
• Daniel Conner ' : 

In the year 1775 at the time of the alarm at 
Lexington, Daniel Conner enlisted for six months in a 
company, commanded by William King and served 
out that time. Then he again enlisted in the same 
company, which was in Colonel A¥ood's regiment in the 
Massachusetts line. This six months' service however 
was in Colonel Fellows' regiment in the same line and 
he served out the full period of his enlistment, After 
that time had expired he again enlisted, this time 
for three years in Captain Warren's company, Colonel 
Bailey's Second Massachusetts regiment, and he 
served out the full period of that enlistment. Then 
Conner enlisted for and during the war in Captain 
Bradford's company, Colonel Sprout's regiment, 
Massachusetts line, serving out the full period, being 
discharged at the close of the war at New Windsor, 
in June or July, 1783. Here was a complete record 
of Revolutionary service from the night of Paul 
Revere's historic ride to the close of the struggle. 
In 1820 Conner said he was 67 years old, and that all 
the property he owned in the world was only worth $56. 

' Onondaga's Soldiers of the Revolution. 
265 



266 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

His occupation was that of a laborer and he said that 
taking one day with another, he was only able to do 
about a half a day's work on the average. His wife 
was 56 years old, and he had three daughters, age 21, 
14, and 12. His list of domestic utensils showed 
only enough cups, saucers, chairs, etc., for the family. 
There was no provision made for company. 

Josiah Moore was one of the two first settlers in the 
town of Fabius in the year 1794. They erected the 
first log houses in town and for the first year were 
entirely alone. Moore built a frame house in 1800. 
His son Charles was born in 1796. 

David Joy was a trustee of the first organized 
society in Fabius in 1805. Luther St. John and Polly 
Joy were married in 1804.^ 

Among the residents of Fabius before 1850 were 
the Dean family, John Tobin, Thomas Dunn, Miles 
B. Hackett, and Dr. Lorenzo Heffron. Among the 
merchants were Charles Downs, and Miles Cummings. ^ 

Dr. John T. Doran, Apulia, was admitted to the 
Onondaga Medical Society in 1823.^ 

' J. V. H. Clark. 
' D. H. Bruce. 
Ubid. 



XVII 

CLAY 

Patrick McGee 

THE story of Patrick McGee strikes a responsive 
chord in the hearts of nature lovers who 
visit Three River Point. The modern picnic or 
fishing party where the rivers meet is only a 
continuation of the revels of centuries. Patrick 
McGee strikes a nearer chord in his experience 
at Harbor Brook. Later authors say Chittenango 
Creek. Clark gives the story ' : 

The name Harbor Brook, in this town, Salina, was 
obtained under the following circumstances. At 
the time Sir John Johnson with his Indian and Tory 
allies made an incursion into the Mohawk Valley, in 
1779, the party forming the expedition had proceeded 
from Niagara along the Ontario lake shore to Oswego 
and up the river to Onondaga Lake. For fear of 
discovery if their boats were left on the lake shore 
they ran them up this small stream among the thick 
bushes and brakes. A party was sent from Fort 
Schuyler to destroy them, but did not succeed in 
ascertaining where they were concealed; but were 
surprised during the search, taken prisoners, and 

' J. V. H. Clark, vol. ii., pp. 152-153. 
267 



268 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

carried captive to Canada. On the first night of their 
departure, they encamped for the night at Three River 
Point, where the prisoners were bound and tied to 
trees until morning. Captain Patrick McGee was 
one of the prisoners, and was so much pleased with the 
beauty of the place at this time, at the junction of the 
rivers^ that at the close of the war, he selected it for 
his residence, spent the residue of his life there, and 
was buried on the spot he had previously selected for 
that piurpose. These facts were related by him during 
his life. 

The first white settler in this town (Clay), then 
Lysander (then Cicero and afterwards Clay), was 
Patrick McGee, at Three River Point, in 1793.^ 

The first town (Cicero) meeting was held at the 
house of Patrick McGee, at Three River Point, 
1807.^ 

When Mr. McGee first visited this place (Three 
River Point), which was in 1780 (above says 1779), 
while a prisoner to the British, on his way to Fort 
Oswego and Canada, there was an extensive clearing 
at this point, handsomely laid in grass, without a 
shrub or tree for something like a mile or more along 
the banks of each river. This spot was often appro- 
priated to the holding of the great coimcils of the 
Iroquois confederacy. Upon this spot, Dekinissora, 
Sadekanaghte, and Garangula have addressed the 
braves of the Hiirons and Adirondacks and the 
Abenaquis. And here, too, have the French and 

' J. V. H. Clark, vol. ii., p. 190. 
'Ibid., vol. ii., p. 177. 



Clay 269 

the English met in these distinguished chiefs, c«"ators 
and diplomats equal to themselves in all that pertains 
to sagacity and skill, ^ 

Before permanently locating at Three River Point, 
Patrick McGee settled at Brewerton in 1791 and that 
year erected the first frame house in this town, which 
was occupied as a tavern by him. It was a great place 
of resort for boatmen and townsmen.^ 

Early settlers: 1804, James McNaughton and 
John McNaughton, his father, in Dutch settlement. 
1827 and later are William Duffaney, John F. Hicks, 

Peter Connell, Joseph A. Hughes, Dean, Edwin 

Carey, Thomas H. Scott, John Coughtry, Clarence 
Hart, Henry S. McMechen, Dr. Hays McKinley, in 
the Onondaga Medical Society in 1840, and Edward 
Connell. In 1836 Lansing Connell was born. 1844, 
R. Bruce McQueen and Robert R. Flynn, a merchant.* 

Edward Connell, brother of Peter and Isaac, was 
born in Lafayette in 1818. His early life was spent 
in hard work clearing up the forests near North 
Syracuse in the town of Clay. He was engaged in 
mercantile business in Baldwinsville and Lysander 
until 1882.'' 

R. Bruce McQueen was born in Clay, 1844, son of 
Robert and Nancy McQueen. The father was born 
in Liverpool, Onondaga County, in 1821. The family 

' J. V. H. Clark, vol. ii., p. 190. 

'Ibid., vol. ii., p. 173. 

3 D. H. Bruce. 

< Baldwinsville Gazette. 



270 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

are of Irish ancestry, the grandfather John McQueen 
coming from Ireland and fought in the war of 1812/ 

Gilbert McKinley was born in Clay, 1834, son of 
Hugh McKinley, a native of Albany County, and 
Nancy Ladell McKinley of Johnstown.^ 

' D. H. Bruce. 
^ Ibid. 



B 



XVIII 
CICERO 
RUCE says: 



Chester Loomis came to Cicero in 1823 and pur- 
chased the farm of 150 acres upon which a Mr. Lynch 
had built a substantial dwelling in 1809. 

Isaac Cody was the first merchant in Cicero. He 
erected a store at Cicero Corners in 1818, filled it with 
goods, and did quite an extensive business. 

When Cicero was in its early days called Cody's 
Corners, Mrs. Isaac Cody was known as the first 
"New Woman" in Onondaga County. She was a 
business woman, a store-keeper and a reformer. She 
was the first woman to enter mercantile business. 

Thomas Larkin came to this country when quite 
young. He was born in Ireland, where his wife Ann 
Walker was born. He enlisted in 149th N. Y. Vols, 
and served until the close of the war. It is thought he 
was killed on his way home. 

Settlers before 1840, William McKinley, George 
Butler, Sr., and Burr Hackett. William and Maria 
Collins, 1847. Henry C. Hart, a cavalryman at 
Sacketts Harbor in war of 18 12. 

271 



XIX 

MANLIUS 

JOHN YOUNG, Revolutionary soldier, settled in 
Orville in 1790. He had six sons and three 
daughters. He kept the first tavern and was Justice 
of Peace many years. ^ 

John Cockley was one of the few soldiers of the 
New York line who settled in Onondaga, the County 
being principally attractive to New England soldiers. 
His patriotic service was for eight years from July, 
1775, to June, 1783, the entire period of the war. At 
first he was in Colonel Goose Van Schaick's regiment 
and afterwards in Colonel Nicholson's regiment. In 
February, 1777, Cockley enlisted to serve during the 
war in Col. Van Schaick's New York troop, in Captain 
McKean's company, and afterwards in other com- 
panies in the same regiment until the close of the 
war. The entire value of his property, Mr. Cockley 
said, was just $2.37. This included a pair of spectacles, 
a tobacco box, and two dollars in cash. Mr. Cockley 
was then 64 years of age, a farmer, and lived and was 
dependent upon his son Cornelius Cockley.^ 

The enlistment of Joseph Hennigan was in the New 
York line in Colonel Wynkoop's regiment for one 

' F. H. Chase. 
» Ibid. 

272 



Manlius 273 

year. Then he enlisted in the same company in the 
regiment of Colonel Moses Hazen for three years and 
was discharged at Fishkill the year before the peace. 
The entire property of Hennigan was worth $162.72 
and he had debts of $110.25. The patriot's age in 
1820 was 61.^ 

In the census returns of 1840 is found the record of 
Silas Burke, a pensioner of the War of the Revolution. 
He also resided in Dewitt.^ 

Robert Wilson 

During the War of the Revolution Robert Wilson 
accompanied his uncle Captain Gregg to Fort Schuyler 
and was desirous of accompanying him at the time he 
was shot and scalped but on account of his youth, only 
thirteen years of age, and the apparent danger was not 
permitted. He was appointed an ensign at the age of 
eighteen and soon after received a lieutenant's com- 
mission and served through the war — was at the 
taking of Cornwallis and was ordered to superintend 
the receiving of the British standards, forty-eight in 
number. When the officers of the British army were 
drawn up to present their colors, as many American 
sergeants were directed to secure them. The British 
officers refused to deliver them into the hands of non- 
commissioned officers, and Colonel Hamilton seeing 
the confusion and delay ordered Lieutenant Wilson to 
receive them and pass them to the hands of the 
sergeants, which he did by passing between the two 

' F. H. Chase. =» Ibid. 

18 



274 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

ranks from one end to the other, to the satisfaction of 
all. (Wilson's own relation.) ^ 

Captain James Gregg was of the Irish London- 
derry colony of New Hampshire partially transplanted 
in New York. He was one of the commanders of 
the garrison at Fort Schuyler and Robert Wilson was 
with him when it was invested by St. Leger in 1777. 
Captain Gregg and a companion and his nephew 
started from the fort one day to hunt. Signs of 
Indians in the neighborhood caused the uncle to send 
the lad Robert back to the fort while he and his com- 
panion and his dog continued on their way. They 
were attacked by Indians and Gregg was scalped. 
His dog travelled a mile or more to some fishermen and 
led them to follow him to Gregg, whom they carried 
to the fort, where he recovered.^ 

Lieutenant Wilson was eighteen years of age when 
he received the British standards at the taking of 
Cornwallis. ^ 

Robert Wilson was postmaster for Manlius from 
1803 to 1809. He was also Justice of the Peace* 

The second settler in Manlius was Charles Mul- 
holland, an Irishman, who lived in a log house. He 
came in 1 792 , the same year in which the first settler 
arrived. He owned a considerable share of Lot 98. 
The southeast corner of Lot 86 was occupied by Mr. 

^J. V. H. Clark, vol. ii., p. 215. 

2 James Haltigan, The Irish in the American Revolution, 

3 Ibid. 

4J. V.H.Clark. . 



Manllus 275 

Cunningham. William Ward owned the whole Lot 
97.' 

At this place, Eagle Village, occurred one of the 
most singular weddings on record. It was upon a 
training day, first Monday in June, 1795. A company 
training was held at Foster's tavern. The company 
were paraded in the open yard in front of Foster's 
house, a hollow square was formed within which the 
wedding party marched and stood and Cyrus Kinne, 
Esq., united in the bonds of holy wedlock, Mr. Billy 
McKee and Miss Jenny Mulholland. Considering the 
simplicity of the times, the rare occurrence of such 
an event, the elevated position of the high contracting 
parties, and the practices then prevalent on such 
occasions, we cannot but infer that the witnesses 
and all present must have had a most splendid 
jollification.^ 

Daniel Mulholland is registered as a member of a 
lodge in 1802. The annual meetings of the town of 
Manlius after Onondaga was set off were held at the 
house of John Delany in Manlius village for three 
years, 1794-97-98. Daniel Griffin, harness maker, 
1797- James and Cummings, business firm, 1805. 
Robbins and Callighan, business firm, 1804. John 
O'Neil, early settler, 1805. ^ The Fleming family 
came to Manlius from Maryland about 18 10. John 
Fleming, Jr., lawyer, 1827.'* 

John Hickey of Pompey came to Fayetteville when 

' J. V. H. Clark. 

=> Ibid. 

i Ibid. 

4 G. S. Strong. 



276 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

a mere lad. He was born in 1837 in Ireland, son of 
James and Elizabeth Hickey.^ 

Hartsville received its name from a Mr. Hart who 
made a purchase of the water-power at that place in 
1811.^ 

Manlius village was incorporated on April 30, 1842, 
with Robert Fleming elected president of the board 
of trustees. Hiram Hopkins was elected trustee. 
Early settlers: Daniel McNeil, a hotel-keeper, Mr. 
Logan, a tailor, John G. Riley, saw-mill. Dr. Archi- 
bald Stevenson came from Ireland to North Manlius. ^ 

Cornelius O' Brien, JohnCoughlin, Patrick Holloran, 
and Patrick Keohane located in Fayetteville probably 
before 1847. 

Bruce states r^ 

St. Mary's Catholic church was organized in 1833 
in a schoolhouse. A small frame church was erected 
in 1834. The first mass was celebrated at the home of 
John Farrell. Subsequently mass was celebrated at 
his home and in the homes of John McCarrick, John 
O'Brien, Jeremiah Bohan, John Murphy, and Thomas 
Flattery. 

Thomas Behan, Mother Grimes, Polly Grimes, and 
Joseph Grimes were early settlers. ^ 

' Bruce. 
" Clark. ' 

3 Bruce. 

4 Ibid. 

s H. C. Van Schaack. 



Manlius 277 

There were but two Catholic families in 1840 within 
the limits of the parish comprising the villages of 
Fayetteville and Manlius, John Farrell and John 
Murphy. The next to take up his residence, in 1841, 
was John Costello, who came here from Canada. ^ 

Edward Gaynor and his brothers Patrick, Michael, 
and John and their descendants have a share in the 
development of the County, particularly in Fayette- 
ville. 

W. W. Clayton says:* 

The nucleus of the present church of the Immacu- 
late Conception was formed by several families resid- 
ing at Fayetteville and Manlius Square from 1846- 
1855. Among these may be mentioned John Farrell, 
John McCarrick, John O'Brien, and Jeremiah Bohan 
of the former place, and Edward Gaynor, John Sheedy, 
Patrick Holland, Timothy Holland, John Shea, Patrick 
Tobin, William Griffin, John Kennelly, Patrick 
Maloney, Michael Foley, Thomas Flattery, and others 
residing at Manlius Square. 

' W. P. H. Hewitt. 

' W. W. Clayton, p. 373. 



XX 

VAN BUREN 
John McHarrie 

CLARK in his numerous references to John 
McHarrie does not mention his nationality. 
Bruce simply states he was of Scotch ancestry. 
Beauchamp in various articles on this pioneer 
does not tell his nationality. He stated, however, 
that McHarrie was most certainly Irish or of Irish 
descent. Col. John M. Strong also said that 
both John McHarrie and his wife were Irish, that 
his father, who came to this County in 1801, and 
who knew the McHarries well, had so informed 
him. 

Dr. Jonas C. Baldwin and wife lodged in 1797 with 
a Mr. McHarrie who had then settled on the south 
bank of the river. ^ 

The first settlements were made (in Van Buren) in 
1 792-1 794 by John McHarrie and others.^ 

Knowing McHarrie's Rifts to be an excellent water 
power the settlers drew up a memorial and sent it on 
in 1807 to Dr. Baldwin.^ 

' Clark, vol. ii., p. 163. 

* Ibid., vol. ii., p. 328. 

3 Ibid., vol. ii., p. 163. 

278 



Van Buren 279 

John McHarrie was the first permanent settler 
in the northern part of the town (Van Buren), where he 
located probably in 1792, although the date is given 
1794 on the gravestone of his son, John, Jr., who died 
in 1834. This pioneer was a veteran of the Revolution. 
He removed his family from Maryland to the Seneca 
country and thence proceeded down the Seneca River 
to Lot 7 at what became known as "McHarrie's 
Rifts" near Baldwinsville. He died there November 
26, 1807, at the age of fifty-five years and was buried 
in a field near his home. John McHarrie, Jr., was the 
only son of the pioneer and left no descendants but a 
daughter Lydia, who married Gabriel Tappan.* 

McHarrie had discovered an ideal spot for his 
wilderness home. Fish and game abounded and he 
found considerable occupation in helping boats 
through the rifts in their up-river trips. A ford 
crossed the river at that point. ^ 

John McHarrie and Gabriel Tappan built an 
early mill on Lot 7. McHarrie sold land, built houses, 
etc. The place was called McHarrie's Rifts and 
Macksville. The first grass was cut in Lysander by 
John McHarrie in about 1796. It was "wild grass, " 
there being no other grass to be found in this section 
at that period. The first apple trees were set out in 
the town of Lysander by John McHarrie in about 
1798.5 

The Souvenir Edition, 1896, of the Baldwinsville 

•Bruce, vol. i., p. 713. 
' Bruce, vol. i., p. 719. 
Ubid. 



28o Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Gazette and Farmer^ s Journal contains an article on 
early settlers by the Rev. W. M. Beauchamp, 
S.T.D. In it are these references to John 
McHarrie : 

The land was bought of John McHarrie, the earliest 
settler on the spot. He came there possibly in 1792, 
certainly as early as 1794, and the place was known 
as McHarrie's Rifts from him. Until 1840 it appeared 
on county maps as Macksville. 

John McHarrie bought 500 acres out of this (Lot 7) 
on the Van Buren side for seventy-five cents per 
acre. On the south side in 1825 the owners of Lot 7 
(among others) was John McHarrie. 

The Baldwinsville Soldiers' Monument has also a 
good list of Revolutionary soldiers and others are in 
the pension lists of 1822 and 1840. Among these is 
the name of McHarrie. 

We were sorry to learn on inquiry that there is no 
picture in existence of John McHarrie.^ 

In 1827 John McHarrie sold the first village lot 
south of the river. It should be said that this was a 
son of the first John McHarrie, the latter having 
died November 26, 1807, at the age of 55 years. He 
came from Maryland.^ 

The name McHarrie is uncommon — almost 
unknown. It is spelled McHarrie and McHarry, 
and this member of the family was called by the 
prefix Mc, that is Mac or Mack. He came from 

I Baldwinsville Gazette. 
' Beauchamp. 



Van Buren 281 

Maryland where the Irish were numerous from 
the earliest colonial days. The name readily 
suggests the name McHenry and McSherry as well 
as O'Hara. The testimony of Rev. W. M. Beau- 
champ and Col. John M. Strong that this particular 
member of the family was Irish either by birth or 
descent must be accepted. 

A Revolutionary soldier, a woodsman, river- 
man, farmer, builder, John McHarrie must have 
been a valuable member of the little colony in the 
wilderness. He must have been in touch with all 
the events of those days when as host he received 
the travellers, and as guide helped them on their 
way through the Rifts. His wife no doubt shared 
the labors and pleasures of the forest home. She 
was well known and esteemed in the County more 
than a century ago. The regret is that so little 
is now known of this pioneer Irish woman. 

Bruce has the following among Van Buren 
notes :^ 

Property owners in 1807: William Lakin, John 
McHarrie, John Cunningham, and Joseph Wilson. 

Owners in 1825 — John McGee, Joseph Hopkins, 
William McClain, William Welch, William Caine, 

Laughlin, John Ford, Pardon Hart, Stephen 

Hart, James Rogers, Robert Rogers, and Robert B. 
Cunningham heirs. 

Daniel Savage, a pioneer of 181 1. John Savage, 
a landowner in 18 16. Richard McLaury, near Ionia 

' D. H. Bruce. 



282 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

in 1816. Dr. William Laughlin in 18 16. Hazel 
Henderson in 18 16. The McGee family in 1815. 
Inn-keeper McKown in 1795. Timothy J. Handy in 
1839. 

A religious society organized in 1818 had among 
its members Elijah Shaw, Daniel Godfrey, John Cox, 
and John Ford. 

John Dunn was the first resident of the town. He 
lived there several years, when his wife died and he 
went away.* 

L. D. Scisco says:^ 

The first permanent settler in the town was Joseph 
Wilson, a native of Limerick, Ireland, whence he 
emigrated when his son Robert was seven years old. 
He lived for a time in Washington County and settled 
in this town in 1792 on the "survey-fifty" of Lot 38, 
and died there early in the present century, leaving 
several children from whom are descended many 
families now resident in the town. John, James, and 
Robert Wilson were sons of the pioneer and of his 
daughters, Martha married David Haynes, Elizabeth 
married William Lakin, and Isabella married Samuel 
Marvin. A grandson also named Joseph was promi- 
nent in the town at about the date of its organization. 

John Cunningham 

John Cunningham, the soldier, was the only one 
out of the thirty-four soldiers of the New York line 
drawing military lots in the present town of Van 

^ Clark. 

' Louis Dow Scisco. 



Van Buren 283 

Buren to settle upon his claim. Even in this case it 
appears that he sold his title and then repurchased it. 
He was a bombardier and drew Lot 38. Cunningham 
was a soldier in Captain Machin's company of an 
artillery regiment. His company took part in the 
expedition against the Onondagas in 1779. Cunning- 
ham came to Van Buren in 1808 from Newburgh, N. Y. 
He is said to have been of Irish birth and his wife to 
have been a Scotch woman named Elizabeth Nichol- 
son. His son John passed his life in Van Buren but 
no descendants are left. Robert H., another son, was 
killed by accident in 1825 and his descendants are also 
gone. Catharine, daughter of the pioneer, married 
Samuel Howe and from them are descended members 
of the Howe, Haynes, Crum, Van Wie, Reed, O'Brien, 
and other families. 

John Cunningham, the Revolutionary soldier, died 
about 1830.^ 

Dr. William Laughlin was a native of Ireland and 
in his young manhood taught school in Saratoga 
County. He located at Wellington in the town of 
Van Biiren in 1816, where he continued to teach while 
studying medicine. He received a license at Fairfield 
in 1823 and practised all his life at what is now 
Memphis. He died in 1862 aged seventy years. He 
was a thorough scholar.^ 

An Indian Legend ^ 

Ta-oun-ya-wat-ha, the deity who presides over 

' Louis Dow Scisco. 
»D. H. Bruce. 

3 Clark, vol. i., p. 41. The legend has not been literally ab- 
stracted, but condensed from several pages of Clark's Onondaga. 



284 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

fisheries and the hunting ground, resolved to 
explore the country about Cross Lake. While 
upon the water he observed in all directions 
skeletons of men, swimming about on the surface. 
Investigating further he found two monstrous red 
feathered animals with long and arched necks, one 
on each side of the Seneca River, He paddled 
the White Canoe ashore and after a furious struggle 
killed one of the monsters. He pursued the other 
to Oneida and back to Salina. After a desperate 
struggle the monster was finally slain and the sand 
knolls so frequent in that neighborhood were 
thrown up by his dying exertions. At length he 
began to decay and myriads of musketoes were 
the offspring of the decomposing mass, which 
completely filled the country. A disagreeable 
effluvia arose from it, which spread far and wide 
and was frequently the cause of fatal and violent 
diseases; the decaying matter also discolored the 
water in the swamps and ever since they have 
been considered unfit for drinking. 



XXI 

SCOTCH-IRISH 

THERE were no so-called Scotch-Irish among 
the Onondaga pioneers. In modern days 
much stress is laid by the Scotch-Irish on the 
settlement of the Scotch in the north of Ireland, 
but the previous settlements in Scotland by the 
Irish are ignored. These hyphenated Irish must 
be either Scotch or Irish. They cannot be both 
nor even hyphenated if a classification is ever to 
be reached. Nationality is transmitted with 
the surname or the hyphenated adjectives would 
be unwieldy. The inhabitants of Great Britain 
and Ireland are neighbors and migrated again and 
again from one place to another wherever chance 
or desire or war or politics or religion led them, 
yet we hear little or nothing of Anglo-Irish, 
Danish-Irish, etc. ; but the closest kin of all, mem- 
bers of the same family in the two neighboring 
lands, sometimes use a hyphen. If birth in a land 
does not give nationality, if the birth of generations 
of ancestors in that same land does not transmit 
nationality, then in truth must we revert to the 
Garden of Eden and claim nationality from Adam 
and Eve. 

285 



286 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

The Scotch-Irish seem to be of American origin. 
The Scotch do not claim them, the Irish do not 
know them. The designation is in most cases a 
repudiation of parents and grandparents whose 
Irish loyalty was never questioned. There is no 
quarrel with the children of one Scotch parent and 
one Irish parent, the only possible Scotch-Irish. 
The issue is with one who disclaims the land that 
gave him birth and harbored and bred his fore- 
fathers for generations. In this same class are 
those who in the land of adoption forget the land 
of their birth. While America assimilates the 
pilgrims to her shores and bids them look forward 
and not backward, and forgetting the strifes and 
sufferings of the old country bend their energies to 
develop the new, yet she would not have them 
false to the spirit of their fathers lest they likewise 
prove faithless to her and her sacred trust. Pray 
then that the Irishman who straddles the hyphen 
as Scotch-Irish will fall between and be lost to 
sight. 

From the Encyclopedia Britannica is taken the 
following : 

The order of the arrival of the three divisions of 
the Celtic race and the extent of the islands they 
occupied are uncertain. Bede in the beginning of the 
8th century gives the most probable account: "At first 
this island had no other inhabitants but the Britons. 
When they had made themselves masters of the 
greatest part of the island beginning at the south, the 
Picts from Scythia were driven by the winds beyond 



Scotch-Irish 287 

the shores of Britain and arrived on the northern coast 
of Ireland, where, finding the nation of Scots, they 
begged to be allowed to settle among them but could 
not succeed in obtaining their request. The Picts 
accordingly sailing over into Britain began to inhabit 
the northern part of the island. In process of time 
Britain received a third nation, the Scots, who migrat- 
ing from Ireland under their leader Renda secured 
those settlements among the Picts which they still pos- 
sess." The Scots came originally to Ireland, one of 
whose names from the 6th to the 13th century was 
Scotia ; Scotia Major it was called after part of northern 
Britain in the nth century had acquired the same 
name. Irish traditions represent the Scots as Mile- 
sians from Spain. They had joined the Picts in 
their attack on the Roman province in the 4th century 
and perhaps had already settlements in the west of 
Scotland. 

Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, grand-nephew of 
the immortal Robert, in his book Ireland Uftder 
English Rule also destroys the tradition of the 
Scotch-Irish settlers: 

The Presbyterians [he writes] who settled in the 
north of Ireland after the early part of the eigh- 
teenth century had come chiefly from the central 
portion of England. They, like Cromwell, hated the 
Scotch, and would never have accepted the term 
Scotch-Irish for themselves. 



XXII 

YARNS 

N the collection of material for records many 
tales occur to the narrators which are either in- 
teresting, humorous, ridiculous, true, or imagined. 
It seems proper to at least record some of them. 

The Story of Kitty 

One day there came to the village of Liverpool 
to a brother's home a young Irish girl of great 
beauty, named Kitty. Mrs. Emeret Crawford 
sought her and engaged her services for the care 
of the children. Kitty was beautiful and sweet- 
tempered, but was a little queer. She wore upon 
her head an ugly white ruffled cap, showing only a 
little of her curly locks above the brow. 

No amount of coaxing or ridicule could persuade 
her to leave it off. No joking attempt to remove 
it found her off her guard. No one ever saw her 
without it except once when one of the children 
who shared her bed saw something and started to 
tell, but Kitty whisked her away before the secret 
was revealed and the child could not afterwards 
be persuaded to tell. 

Kitty brought with her to Liverpool a chest full 
288 



Yarns 289 

of beautiful home-spun linen clothes with lace 
trimming, hand made; also there were fine broad- 
cloth garments, dresses and cloaks, one especially 
admired, the Connemara cloak. But Kitty- 
seemed to care little for her finery and her beauty 
and persisted in wearing the particularly unbecom- 
ing white cap, so unsuitable for a young girl. 

In time Kitty's mistress won her confidence and 
she told her story. 

Kitty had been engaged to be married and her 
betrothed had come to Boston to prepare a home 
for her. Letters had been frequently exchanged 
and at last all was ready. Kitty agreed to 
come and be married in America. None of her 
friends or relatives came with her, but there were 
many people from her part of the country who 
were glad to accept her company for the voyage. 
Arrived in Boston Harbor, some of the citizens 
came on board, and Kitty heard her lover's name 
on strange lips and heard his wife and child 
spoken of in terms of praise. She heard no more 
consciously for many weeks until she awoke in a 
hospital among strangers. She had been very ill 
and was now recovering. Time passed and she 
could not help noticing that every one who passed 
by looked at her strangely. After a time she was 
given a mirror and she found her black hair had 
turned snowy white. The shock brought on a 
relapse but she slowly recovered, and to save 
herself from annoyance, covered her head with a 
cap and wore false hair over her brow. Poor 



2go Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Kitty ! Nothing was learned of her lover, and her 
brother came to take her to his home. 

One day another suitor came from Salina and 
won what was left of Kitty's heart and they were 
married. Several years later a young girl came 
to their home and when she saw Kitty's husband 
threw her arms around him and called him father. 
She was the oldest daughter of his family, whom 
he had deserted in Ireland, and her mother had sent 
her, when old enough, to America to find her 
father. Poor Kitty found her weary way back to 
her old mistress for comfort and then learned that 
her lover in Boston had been true to her and that his 
first cousin of the same name and from the same 
parish also lived in Boston. The name she had 
heard on her arrival and the wife and child belonged 
to the cousin and not to her betrothed. This 
was the last straw of Kitty's burden. She spent 
the rest of her life in a little house given her by 
her brothers. 

A niece of Kitty's was interviewed. She 
remembered her aunt as an old lady who was 
queer. She wore habitually a long Connemara 
cloak of broadcloth. Her nieces and nephews 
stood in awe of her and met frequent criticism 
for their childish levity. The niece knew there 
was something unusual in her aunt's married life, 
but such things were not discussed in the families 
and children were forbidden to ask questions. 

In 1893 an American priest named Gray visited 



Yarns 291 

Louvain University in Belgium. The professors 
told him that for the first time in over a hundred 
years there was not at the university one of the 
Gray family of Longford. < 

Peter Caldwell, an early pioneer of Salina, was a 
small man, well read and cranky, and had his part 
to bear in the battles of the day. Like all the 
Irish he met prejudice and hostility. In the 
fights along the Canal he used his fists and his good 
wife followed with her apron full of stones. He is 
said to have been one of the original signers for 
the church of St. John the Baptist. 

It is not to be supposed that the Irish youth of 
the County were sound asleep on the eve of 
St. Patrick's Day. One incident is related by 
Anthony J. Haley. 

In the St. Charles hotel a number of men had 
gathered to prepare an efhgy for the morrow, the 
seventeenth of March. Outside, safely hidden, 
were Bernard and Patrick McTee and their 
friends watching the proceeding. Just after mid- 
night one of the men within stepped out quietly 
to reconnoitre. All was still. Suddenly he 
heard the faintest of sounds and darted back 
to the hotel, but not quickly enough to escape a 
well directed kick. He did not celebrate for 
several days. 

Reminiscences of 1824 by Timothy Collingwood 



292 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Cheney (i 808-1 854) appeared first in pamphlet 
form and later were incorporated in Early Land- 
marks of Syracuse by Gurney S. Strong. On 
pages 135-136 of that work are described the 
methods of rival gangs in war. Also in Onondaga's 
Centennial, vol. i., page 282, and in Pioneer Times, 
pages 310-31 1, are recounted tales to delight the 
bellicose. 

The children of Liverpool played near Bloody 
Brook, which took its name from Revolutionary 
days or before. There was nearby a haunted house 
without which a neighborhood was incomplete in 
those days. The Jesuit well served the parched 
throats of the playing youngsters. 

Patrick Marion was a teacher on Lord Forbes' 
estate in County Monaghan. He had been 
destined for the priesthood and had been sent to 
France to study, because in Ireland it was for- 
bidden by the laws to instruct the youth in 
Catholicism. Returning to his home for the 
holidays, he was caught in a riot on Orangeman's 
Day and suffered serious injury, which debarred him 
from Holy Orders. His education made him an 
exceptionally efficient teacher, high in the esteem 
of his patron. Lord Forbes, while travelling in 
Spain, was recognized as an Irishman and addressed 
in Gaelic. Unable to understand or to speak the 
language of his native land, he became embarrassed 
and resolved to supply the deficiency and to en- 



Yarns 293 

courage the study at home. He consulted Pat- 
rick Marion, who agreed to teach his pupils their 
mother tongue. All were pleased with the plan 
until the Gaelic books furnished were found to be 
most bitterly anti-Catholic and the teacher re- 
fused to use them. 

The following yarn was told to a member of the 
Kelley family by Elisha Alvord or a relative. John 
Kelley told it in an interview. 

On Orangeman's Day during the War of 18 12 
the men working on the roof of Elisha Alvord's 
building at the corner of Salina and Exchange 
streets heard the cannonading at Oswego. They 
became very much excited and Alvord and the 
other men raised a pole on the top of the building 
and held it while John O'Blennis climbed to its 
top and waved the Stars and Stripes towards 
Oswego. 

It is said that the cannon of that period could not 
be heard that distance, but Clark states that 
British cannonading at Oswego was heard here. 

Elisha Alvord was familiar with bears and 
wolves, who gave their names to the streets in 
Salina. He had a pet bear for five years. It 
wore a red ribbon around its neck, so the hunters 
would not mistake it for a wild bear and shoot it. 
It wandered at will during the day and came home 
at nightfall. 

Maurice Ward, James Shanahan, and Quigley at 



294 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

Split Rock chiselled the holy water font now in the 
church at Liverpool. The brass candlesticks that 
were used in the old church at Split Rock are now 
the property of Miss Margaret Kelly. Miss Mary 
McGuire owns the diminutive organ, about the 
size of a suit-case, which her father bought years 
ago. It served for many years the congregation 
of St. John the Baptist Church. It was folded up 
and carried to the dedication services of half the 
County and it shared the college years of her 
priestly brother. 

A Lonesome Boy 

A young man went West but became very 
homesick. While walking along the street one 
day he saw some familiar salt barrels. He rushed 
up to them and kissed the labels, saying, "God 
bless Syracuse." 

Lough Gowna 

Catharine Gormly Lynch tells this story. She 
had it from her grandfather, who knew the scene 
of the incident. Catharine herself never doubted 
that she could find the very spot where the bell 
sank and, if necessary, could dive for it. There is 
left in nearly every native of Ireland in spite of 
everything, a little touch of faith in that invisible 
world where fairies live. They will not admit or 
assert it, but will not deny it and only shake their 
heads wisely and are silent with a kind thought for 



Yarns 295 

the benefit of the "good people" whom their 
children know not. 

There is in Lough Gowna an island (inch in 
Gaelic) , on which stood a chapel of Saint Columb- 
kill with its bell and belfry. In those terrible days 
of strife the bell took part and tolled of its own 
accord when the English soldiers were approaching. 
The inhabitants thus aroused and warned drove 
before them all their cattle, swimming them over 
to the island while they themselves clung to the 
tails, and they were safe. In time the English cap- 
tured the tell-tale bell and carried it to England, 
but lo! and behold! next morning the bell was 
back in its tower. Three times it was thus stolen 
and returned by magic, but the third time the bell 
slowly sank into the water, sinking, sinking and 
tolling, tolling for three days and sending up a 
cloud of vapor visible for miles around. 

The Bullfrog 

(From A. H. Crawford's Story of the Fury Family.) 

While in Phoenix it happened one day that a 
gigantic bullfrog of the kind whose voice is as the 
voice of many waters when the evening sun is low, 
had stowed himself away under the bed in the Fury 
shanty. While the mother was out for a pail of 
water the baritone of the Bulrush troupe hopped out 
and landed in the middle of the floor. The little Furys 
were paralyzed. Never before had such an object 
met their gaze. They recovered sufficiently to yell 
and their increasing yells soon brought their mother 



296 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 

to the door but it was only to add her own screams 
to those of her children. Luckily, help was near and 
strong men were soon upon the scene. When her 
nerves were somewhat quieted it was found that she 
had never seen a reptile in her life and was firmly 
convinced that St. Patrick when he banished them 
from Ireland had given them a refuge in "America, 
and his coat of green was either an evidence of his 
origin or an imposition. 

A Smallpox Incident 

(Near Fabius, N. Y., July, 1862.) 

Pierce Grace drove into town to buy groceries 
for his family, consisting of himself and wife and 
their four small children. He hitched his horse 
and entered the store. There was an air of 
excitement and he soon learned the cause. Three 
days before a man, William Swift, 13^2 miles from 
Fabius, had died of smallpox and as yet no one had 
been found to bury him for love or money. He 
lay as he died in his house. "Faith, it 's a queer 
country," said Grace. "In the land I come from 
a man does not ask pay for burying his dead." 
These words were repeated to the poormaster who 
had charge of these matters, and inspired hope. 
He sought Grace and tried to hire him to bury the 
man, but Grace said he was not to be hired but 
would do it for charity. The whole town went 
with him to the gate in a triumphant march. He 
entered the house and performed the terrible 
task. John Swift, the brother, lay on a couch 



Yarns 297 

desperately sick but not wishing to be mistaken for 
the corpse. When Grace returned to the street, 
the place was deserted. Not a person was to be 
seen. His groceries had been put into the wagon 
and the horse's head turned homeward. 

James McGurk was a well-known character in 
Syracuse, soon after 1840. He prepared and sold a 
liquid much used by boiler-makers and others. It 
was called Jimmy McGurk's eyewater and be- 
came a household remedy for all forms of eye 
disease. 

Ghosts 

When Peter O'Neill and his men were cutting 
wood one winter near Cicero some one while work- 
ing near the log house in which they lived dug up 
some boards that looked like a box for the dead. 
This led to story-telling of ghosts and experiences 
with fairies and other spirit people. By bedtime 
imagination was galloping with free rein. Some 
of the boys in the neighborhood heard the yarns 
and went home to look for the material of a joke. 
They dressed a cat in a white shirt-sleeve, buttoned 
the cuff around the cat's neck, and let the swaddled 
animal down the chimney. The cat, terrified by 
the blazing logs and clinging sleeve, dashed around 
the room, waking the sleepers from their dreams of 
ghosts to behold the frightened creature. The 
ghost of the cat was laid with proper ceremony. 



298 Pioneer Irish of Onondaga 
Canalers 

(An old story with a new setting.) 

When the canal opened in the spring, the canal- 
ers journeyed by rail to join their boats. Before 
setting out for the season's work the Catholic 
mothers were anxious to have their boys go to 
confession. So they did and the train often waited 
for them. One of the last boys to go was in a 
hurry. He shouted to the priest, "Forgive me 
everything but murder. I 've got to catch my 
train." 

CUDDEHY OF DUHARA 

A child enjoys a story more completely if the 
story people happen to be even distantly related 
to his family. All the various peoples of the earth, 
as is well known, have traditions which seem to 
have had a common origin. Thomas W. Quigley, 
Junior, claims Cuddehy of Duhara as a kinsman. 

A certain servant on an estate in County 
Tipperary had by long practice become an expert 
with the single stick, a kind of foil used as a 
sword in fencing. He would halt every passer-by 
and force him to the exercise, always defeating 
him and adding to his own pride. Now there 
was in the countryside another man skilful with 
the stick whom this champion had never met and 
whose fame he discredited. Cuddehy of Duhara 
was his name and he was induced to lay a snare 



Yarns 299 

for the insolent and boastful fencer. So one day- 
there passed along the road a shambling figure 
meanly dressed and stupid of countenance. He 
was halted by the command "On guard." The 
master of the house came out to see the fun and 
it is probable there were many hidden witnesses 
in the neighborhood. The gawk took his stick 
awkwardly and began to defend himself. Soon the 
stick began to move faster and faster and could 
not be beaten down. Gradually the gawk broke 
through the guard of the champion, tipping him 
now on the ear, now on the nose, now on the head, 
with more and more speed and force until the 
champion, bleeding and enraged, shouted, "Who 
are you?"— "Who do you think I am?"— "You 
are either the devil or Cuddehy of Duhara." 



INDEX 



Achill, 131 

Agan, Patrick H., 119 
Ahem, Joanna Condon, 206 
Ahem, John, 206 
Ahern, Margaret, 206 
Allen, King, 57 
Alvord, Elisha, 293 
Alvord, Emmeline, 249 
Ancient Order of Hibernians, 

136, 241 
Ancient Order of Hibernians, 

President of, 241 
Anderson, Alexander, 35 
Anderson, Anne Murphy, 35 
Anderson family, 35, 44 
Anderson, Joseph, 35 
Anderson, Richard, 35 
Anderson, Thomas, 35 
Antrim, 98 

Appeal to the Courts, An, 147 
Appeal to Fists, The, 54, 292 
Armagh, 98 
Art, John Gormly, 167 
Athlone, 241 
Austin, Amanda McCulloch, 

240 
Austin, Edward, 240 
Avengers, The, 50 

Baker, James, 80 
Baker, Johanna Shaunessy, 80 
Baldwin, Dr. Jonas C, 278 
Balla, 129 
Ballananagh, 167 
Ballina, 116, 150 
Balloughaderean, 129 
Ballycastle, 145 
Ballyknock, 30 
Ballylangfort, 138 
Ballymitty, 30 
Ballytarsna, 153 



Bannon, Anne O'Brien, 132 
Bannon, Anne McLaughlin, 

132 
Bannon, Bernard A., 132 
Bannon, Joseph, 132 
Bannon, Joseph P., 133 
Bannon, Mary O'Laughlin, 132 
Bannon, Owen, 132 
Bannon, Tatiana McDonald, 

133 
Ban try Bay, 85, 173 
Barnes, Agnes Quigley, 119 
Barnes, Bridget, 81 ; 
Barnes, Carl C, 119 
Barrett, James P., 23 
Barrett, Patrick, 199 
Barrett, Wilhelmina Lalor, 23 
Barry, Daniel, 130 
Barry, Helen, 39 
Barry, Honora Ryan, 134 
Barry, James, 130 
Barry, Johanna, 130 
Barry, John, 124, 130 
Barry, Margaret, 130 
Barry, Mary, 130 
Barry, Patrick, 130 
Barry, Richard, 130 
Barry, Robert, 134 
Barry, William, 130 
Basseter, Lucy, 53 
Bates, Elizabeth, 120 
Bates, Jane Phillips, 120 
Bates, Joshua, 120 
Bayard, Eliza Ann, 204 
Bayard, Maria Teague, 204 
Beatson, John, 124 
Beatson, Mary, 159 
Becker, Helen C, 172 
Beers, Elizabeth, 160 
Beers, John, 160 
Beers, Mary, 160 



301 



302 



Index 



Behan, Thomas, 276 
Bell, The Magic, 294 
Bennett, Thomas, 77 
Berrigan, Captain, 123 
Berry, Catharine McLaughlin, 

132 
Berry, Jonathan, 229 
Berry, Martin, 124, 132 
Berry, Richard, 233 
Berry, Simeon, 251 
Betts, Alanson, 223 
Betts, George F. K., 222 
Betts, Lavinia Kennedy, 222 
Betts, Susan, 223 
Betts, Theresa, 223 
Eierhardt, Ellen McCarthy, 22 
Bierhardt, Seymour, 22 
Bigley, John, 123 
Bishop of Syracuse, 156 
Blazed trail, 12 
Bloody Brook, 292 
Blum, Benedict, 217 
Blum, Maria Jane Ealden, 217 
Bogardus, Mr., 75 
Bohan, Jeremiah, 276, 277 
Boland, Anne Rogers, 123 
Boland, John, 123 
Bourke, Francis, 125 
Bourke, Francis J., 125 
Bourke, Hannie L., 125 
Bourke, Joanna Welch, 125 
Bourke, Joseph P., 125 
Bourke, Nora A., 125 
Bourke, Thomas F., 117, 125 
Bourke, Rev. William J., 117, 

125, 133 
Bowes, John, 219 
Bowes, Mary, 219, 220 
Bowler, Catharine Kelley, 151 
Bowler, John, 151 
Bowler, Margaret Burke, 151 
Bowler, Nellie, 151 
Boyle, Dominick, 42 
Boyle, Edward, 220 
Boyle, Mary, 220 
Boyle, Nancy, 80 
Boys of Wexford, 32 
Bradley, John, 235 
Bradley, Michael, 235 
Brady, John, 219 
Brady, Mary Jane, 53 



Brash, Rebecca, 131 
Breed, George W., 229 
Breed, Polly Ann Owen, 229 
Brennan, 123 
Brennan, Margaret, 137 
Brennan, William, 124 
Bronson, Hon. Alvin, 12 
Brosnahan, Julia, loi 
Brown, John, 124 
Bryan, Daniel, 18 
Bryan, John A., 249 
Bryan, Reuben, 249 
Bryan, Sarah McCarthy, 18 
Buckley, Christopher, 42, 44, 

67 
Buckley, James, 124 
Buckley, Nano, 160 
Buckley Road, 44 
Buckley, Russell, 67 
Bug-a-boo, 50 
Bulger, Andrew, 36 
Bulger, Antoinette Murphy, 36 
Bulger, James, 36 
Bulger, Mary, 36 
Bulger, Patrick, 36 
Bulger, Patrick William, 36 
Bulger, Thomas, 36 
Bullfrog, The, 295 
Buncrana, 236 
Burdick, Dr. D. W., 160 
Burdick, Elizabeth Dunbar, 

160 
Burdick, Minnie A., 160 
Burke, Anastasia, 218 
Burke, Bridget, 218 
Burke, Bridget Carey, 218 
Burke, Edward, 138, 218 
Burke, Eliza Sherry, 219 
Burke, Ellen, 219 
Burke, Enos, 220 
Burke, Frank, 220 
Burke, Harriet Mayhew, 218 
Burke, James, 219 
Burke, John, 80, 218 
Burke, Josephine, 218 
Burke, Julia, 219 
Burke, Lyman, 220 
Burke, Margaret, 138, 151, 

218, 219 
Burke, Margaret Delaney, 218 
Burke, Mary, 84, 219 



Index 



303 



Burke, Mary Kennedy, 138, 



218 
Burke 
Burke, 
Burke 
Burke. 
Burke 
Burke 
Burke 
Burnes 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 

160 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
BurnS: 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 

215 

Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 
Burns 



Mary Lee, 218 
Matthew, 218, 219 
Nancy Boyle, 80 

Nora, 239 

Patrick, 218 

Sarah, 219 

Silas, 273 

, John, 233 

Anna, 160, 161 

Anna Marion, 216 

Anna McGraw, 161 

Catharine, 160, 161 
Catharine Kennedy, 

Charles, 161 
Cora McChesney, 160 
David, 120 
Dora McLean, 160 
Edward P., 160 
Eleazer, 233 
Elizabeth Bates, 120 
Elizabeth Beers, 160 
Ellen Doyle, 81 
Emma, l6l 
Flora E., 120 
Frank, 160 
Frank Walton, 216 
James, 160 
Jennie Dillon, 160 
John, 77, 160, 233 
Joseph, 160 
Kittie Kennedy, 160 
Louise Evelyn, 216 
Margaret Ellen, 160 
Maria Jane Walton, 

Mary, 160 
Mary Burns, 160 
Mary Dempsey, 120 
Mary Dwyer, 160 
Mary Joy, 161 
Minnie A. Burdick, iCo 
Patrick, 151, 160 
Peter, 120 
Robert, 218 
Rose, 151 
Sannie Davis, 120 
Thomas, 215, 219 
Thomas H., 81 



Burns, William, 160 

Burns, Willis B., 120 

Burroughs, Lula, 131 

Bustin, Mary, 79 

Bustin, Zollie, 22 

Butler, Catharine Gleason, 258 

Butler, Ebenezer, 260, 261, 

262 
Butler, Edward, 66 
Butler, George, 271 
Butler, James, 149 
Butler, James Campbell, 149 
Butler, Jesse, 262 
Butler, John, 151, 223 
Butler, Jonathan, 260 
Butler, Julia Murray, 151 
Butler, Louisa Soper, 262 
Butler, Mary, 66, 151, 261 
Butler, Mary Randall, 149 
Butler, Mr., 75 
Butler, Rebecca Davis, 261 
Butler, Roscoe, 258 
Butler, Thomas, 258 
Butler, Thomas L, 258 
Butler, William, 28, 66 
Button, John, 95 
Button, Margaret Hunt, 95 
Byrne, Anna J., 138 
Byrne, Bridget, 137 
Byrne, Cecilia I., 138 
Byrne, Charles, 137, 138, 219 
Byrne, Charles Vincent, 138 
Byrne, Edward, 138 
Byrne, Elizabeth, 137 
Byrne, Ellen, 137, 138 
Byrne, Ellen Byrne, 137 
Byrne, Ellen M. Halligan, 138 
Byrne, Francis, 138 
Byrne, Jane McGurn, 137 
Byrne, John, 137 
Byrne, Rev. John Vincent, 

137. 138, 256 
Bj^rne, Lawrence, 136, 137 
Byrne, Margaret, 137 
Byrne, Margaret Brennan, 137 
Byrne, Margaret Burke, 138, 

219 
Byrne, Margaret E., 138 
Byrne, Mary, 137 
Byrne, Mary F., 138 
Byrne, Michael, 138 



304 



Index 



Byrne, Minnie Lynch, 138 
Byrne, Patrick, 138 
Byrne, Dr. Patrick J., 138 
Byrne, Peter, 138 
Byrne, Very Rev. Peter Vin- 
cent, 137, 138 
Byrne, Sarah, 138 
Byrne, Terence, 137 
Byrne, Thomas, 137 
Byrne, WilHam, 137 
Byrne, William F., 123 

Caflfray, John, 124 
Caharrough, parish of, 86 
Cahill, Agnes Lalor, 23 
Cahill, Bridget, 46 
Cahill, Caroline, 46 
Cahill, Catharine Sweeny, 150 
Cahill, Edward, 149, 219 
Cahill, Ellen Meagher, 149 
Cahill, James, 124 
Cahill, John, 45, 46, 47 
Cahill, Mary Burke, 219 
Cahill, Michael, 45, 46 
Cahill, Patrick Francis, 149 
Cahill, Thomas, 124 
Cahill, Dr. William, 23 
Caine, William, 281 
Caldwell, Mr., 21 
Caldwell, Peter, 64, 291 
Callahan, Agnes Cassidy, 131 
Callahan, Cornelius, 221 
Callahan, Mary J., 221 
Callahan, Thomas D., 131 
Callender, Francis R., 245 
Callender, Mary A. Hicks, 245 
Callender, Richard, 229, 245 
Callighan & Robbins, 275 
Cameron, Elizabeth, 263 
Camillus, 251 
Campbell, Ellen, 149, 196 
Campbell, John, 196 
Campbell, Margaret Savage, 

75 
Campbell, Mary, 196 
Canal commerce, 142 
Canal ers, 142, 298 
Canfield, Electa, 84 
Caoin, 182 

Caples, Bridget Doheny, 126 
Carabine family, 199 



Carahart, Kate, 214, 216 

Carberry, Rose, 29 

Carey, Bradley, 77 

Carey, Bridget, 218 

Carey, Daniel, 219 

Carey, Edwin, 269 

Carey, John, 219 

Carey, Lawrence, 219 

Carey, Margaret, 172, 219 

Carey, Nellie, 219 

Carlin family, 201 

Carlow, 98 

Carlton, John, 199 

Carr, Almon, 259 

Carr, Amos, 259 

Carr, Arethusa Morse, 259 

Carr, Mary King, 259 

Carr, Sullivan A., 259 

Carroll, Burnett, 229 

Carroll, Caroline Goldsmith, 

158 
Carroll, Charles L., 158 
Carroll, Dana H., 158 
Carroll, David, 223 
Carroll, Francis Edward, 157 
Carroll, Frank D., 158 
Carroll, Goldsmith, 158 
Carroll, James A., 158 
Carroll, James Francis, 157 
Carroll, Mary Louise Dana, 157 
Carroll, Patrick, 224 
Carter, David K., 19 
Carter, Millicent, 17, 19 
Casavand, Dell, 103 
Casavand, Mary Sullivan, 103 
Casey, Mary, 236 
Cashel, 133 
Cassidy, Agnes, 131 
Cassidy, Catharine Conners, 

130 
Cassidy, Catharine Ryan, 131, 

135 

Cassidy, Christopher J., 131 
Cassidy, Elizabeth, 131 
Cassidy, Ellen Cawley, 131 
Cassidy, Frances, 131 
Cassidy, Harvey B., 131 
Cassidy, James, 131 
Cassidy, John, 130 
Cassidy, John J., 131 
Cassidy, Kate, 131 



Index 



305 



Cassidy, Lula Burroughs, 131 
Cassidy, Mary Barry, 130 
Cassidy, Mary Demong, 131 
Cassidy, Mary Ellen, 131 
Cassidy, Michael, 130 
Cassidy, Mina, 131 
Cassidy, Rebecca Brash, 131 
Cassidy, Rose, 131 
Cassidy, Stephen J., 131 
Cassidy, William, 130 
Cassidy, William S., 131 
Castlebar, 156, 200 
Castle Comer, 36 
Castle, Esther, 89 
Castle Island, parish of, 255 
Castlewellan, 132 
Catholic Mutual Benefit Asso- 
ciation, 135, 136 
Caughdenoy, 50, 51 
Caulfield, Anthony, 124 
Caulfield, Patrick, 124 
Cavan, 99 
Cawley, Ellen, 131 
Cayon, Elizabeth, 22 
Cazenovia Seminary, 28 
Cheney, Timothy C., 291 
Chryst, Edwin, 37 
Chryst, Ellen Dunn, 37 
Chryst, Henrietta, 37 
Chryst, Mary Stella, 37 
Chryst, Matthew, 37 
Chryst, Robert D., 37 
Chryst, William, 37 
Church at Split Rock, 177 
Cicero, 27 1 
Clancy, 32, 189 
Clancy, Martha, 161 
Clare, 99 

Clark, Bernard, 170 
Clark, Catharine, 170 
Clark, Charles, 170 
Clark, George, 80 
Clark, Hanna Leyden, 216 
Clark, H. M., 216 
Clark, James, 170, 222 
Clark, John, 159 
Clark, Margaret Hurst, 159 
Clark, Mary, 170 
Clark, Mary Farrell, 170 
Clark, Mary Shaunessy, 80 
Clark, Nellie, 170 



Clark, Orville Leyden, 216 

Clark, Sarah, 170 

Clary, Honora, 65 

Clary, James, 123 

Clary, Kate, 65 

Class Distinction, 146 

Clay, 267 

Cleary, Marv, 159 

Clinton, DeWitt, 9, 10 

Clinton, Gen. James, 6, 10 

Cloenlee, 62 

ClonbuUoge, 130 

Cloney, Patrick, 201 

Cloyne, 130 

Clunis, 43 

Coakley, Catharine Darrow, 

252 
Coakley, Michael, 252 
Cochran, Major Robert, 6, 76 
Cockley, Cornelius, 272 
Cockley, John, 272 
Cody, Elijah, 234 
Cody, Ella, 240 
Cody family, 242 
Cody, Isaac, 271 ' 
Cody, Mrs. Isaac, 271 
Cody, Joel, 77 
Cody, Joseph, 76, 233 
Cody, Mrs., 232, 242 
Cole, Mrs. George, 45 
Coleman, Timothy, 233 
CoUes, Christopher, 9 
Collins, Dennis, 85 
Collins, Ellen Devine, 200 
Collins, Johanna Catharine, 85 
Collins, Luke, 77 
Collins, Maria, 271 
Collins, Mary Driscoll, 85 
Collins, Nellie, 22 
Collins, Thomas, 200 
Collins, William, 271 
Comerford, Margaret, 33 
Command, Bridget, 41 
Command, Catharine, 29 
Command, Ellen, 29 
Condon, Joanna, 206 
Coney, Bridget, 24 
Conlin, Catharine Morgan, 100 
Conlin, Francis, 100 
Conlon, Catharine, 224 
Connell, Edward, 250, 269 



306 



Index 



Connell, Isaac, 250, 269 
Connell, Lansing, 269 
Connell, Peter, 249, 269 
Connelly, Anna, 155 
Connelly, Elizabeth, 155 
Connelly, Ellen, 155 
Connelly, Francis, 16, 154 
Connelly, James, 155 
Connelly, John, 155 
Connelly, Mary, 155 
Conner, Daniel, 265, 266 
Conner, James, 199 
Conner, John, 199 
Conners, Catharine, 130 
Conners, Margaret, 144 
Connolly, Anna Holger, 133 
Connolly, Anna R., 133 
Connolly, Catharine Kelley, 

133 
Connolly, Hugh, 133 
Connolly, Jerry R., 133 
Connolly, John F., 133 
Connolly, Margaret F. Tehan, 

133 

Connolly, Mary Tracy, 133 
Connolly, Pierce, 133 
Connolly, Thomas, 133 
Connor, William, 11, 48 
Connors, Alice, 239 
Conry, Catharine, 246 
Coogan, 123 

Cooney, Bridget Coney, 24 
Cooney, Bridget Sennit, 25 
Cooney, Catharine Command, 

29 
Cooney, Catharine McCarthy, 

Cooney, Daniel, 29 
Cooney, Ellen Command, 29 
Cooney, Emma Lang, 29 
Cooney family, 31, 35, 42 
Cooney, James, 29 
Cooney, Jeremiah, 29 
Cooney, Jerry, 29 
Cooney, John, 29 
Cooney, Martin, 29 
Cooney, Mary, 24, 29 
Cooney, Michael, 25 
Cooney, Nicholas, 29 
Cooney, Patrick, 24-28, 29, 
44. 64 



Cooney, Patrick D., 29 
Cooney, Rose Carberry, 29 
Corbett, Patrick, Esq., 53, iii, 

157 
Corbett, Rose Gavigan, 53, 157 
Corcoran, Dennis, 219 
Corcoran, Katharine, 145 
Cork, 99 

Cosgriff, Eliza, 157 
Cosgriff, James, 157 
Cosgriff, Sarah Donnelly, 157 
Costello, Honora, 124 
Costello, John, 277 
Costello, Thomas, 124 
Coughlin, Ellen, 45 
Coughlin, James, 45 
Coughlin, John, 276 
Coughtry, John, 269 
Counties of Ireland, 98 
County Court, first, 147 
County Rivalry, 95-98 
Court-House Fight, 47, 68 
Cox, John, 282 
Coy, Joseph, 241 
Coy, Vine, 48 
Coyne, Mary, 151 
Coyne, Peter, 240 
Coyne, Sarah, 151 
Coyne, Thaddeus, 151 
Crane, Nancy, 224 
Crawford, Albert H., 11, 57 
Crawford, Mrs. Emeret, 52 
Cronin, Anna Burns, 160 
Cronin, Catharine, 134 
Cronin, Ellen, 173 
Cronin, Honora Crowley, 160 
Cronin, John W., 160 
Cronin, Patrick, 173 
Cronin, Timothy W., 160 
Cross MuUina, 114 
Crow, Andrew, 219 
Crow, John, 219 
Crowell, Belle, 29 
Crowley, Bridget Driscoll, 86 
Crowley, Cornelius, 199 
Crowley, Honora, 160 
Crowley, Mr., 86 
Crum family, 283 
Cuddeback, Abraham A., 234 
Cuddeback, Hannah, 234 
Cuddehy of Duhara, 298 



Index 



307 



Cullen, John, 124 
Cummings, Bridget, 159, 161 
Cummings, Charles, 202 
Cummings, Chloe, 202 
Cummings, Edward, 258 
Cummings, Esther, 202 
Cummings, James and, 275 
Cummings, Mary Doheny, 126 
Cummings, Matthew D., 258 
Cummings, Miles, 266 
Cummings, Mr., 78 
Cummings, Oliver, 202 
Cummings, Patrick, 123 
Cummings, Rev., 54 
Cummings, William, 199 
Cunningham, Catharine, 283 
Cunningham, Elizabeth Nich- 
olson, 283 
Cunningham, John, 2S1, 282, 

283 
Cunningham, Margaret, 81 
Cunningham, Mr., 275 
Cunningham, Robert B., 281 
Cunningham, Robert H., 283 
Curry, James, 263 
Curry, Mary, 151 
Curry, Samuel, 263 
Cur tin, Catharine McLaugh- 
lin, 236 
Curtin, Dennis, 255 
Curtin, Patrick, 236 
Curtin, Sarah Tobin, 255 
Curtin, Timothy, 124 
Cusack, Miss, 180 
Cushendoll, 151 
Cushing, "Widow," 78 

Daggett, Ase, 69 

Daggett, James, 234 

Daily, Abram, 223 

Dalton, Ann, 53 

Daly, Arthur P., 144 

Daly, Bridget, 144 

Daly, Catharine Nicholson, 

144 
Daly, Daniel, 199 
Daly, John, 199 
Daly, Margaret, 144, 199 
Daly, Margaret Conners, 144 
Daly, Maria, 144 
Daly, Mary, 220 



Daly, Mary A., 144 

Daly, Nellie, 144 

Daly, Owen, 199 

Daly, Patrick, 142 

Daly, Peter, 144 

Daly, William, 199 

Dana, John, 44 

Dana, Martha, 44 

Dana, Olivia Haight, 44 

D'Arcy, Catharine, 128. 

Darrow, Catharine, 252 

Darylone, 196 

Davin, John, 44 ^ 

Davis, Caleb, 78 

Davis, George, 77 

Davis, Matthew L., 78 

Davis, Sannie, 120 

Day, Caroline Cahill, 46 

Day, Edward, 47 

Day, Ned, 190 

Dayley, James, 234 

Dayley, John, 234 

Dayley, Moses, 234 

Deady, Philip, 123 

Dean, Anna, 203 

Dean family, 266, 269 

Dean, James, 76 

Dean, Rial, 203 

Dean, William, 203, 262 

Debate on religion, public, 

19, 89 
Dee, Hannah, 235 
Degnan, Bridget, 171 
Degnan, Elizabeth, 171 
Degnan, Maria, 99, 171 
Degnan, Mary Gavigan, 171 
Degnan, Mary McGovern, 171 
Degnan, Michael, 171 
Degnan, Patrick, 100, 170 
Delaney, John, 275 
Delaney, Margaret, 218 
Delaney, Peter, 251 
Demong, Mary, 131 
Dempsey, Mary, 120 
Denfee, Patrick, 77 
Denman, Eleanor, 39 
Denny, Lucy, 203 
Derry, 98 
Desertegny, 236 
Devereaux family, 14, 15, 38 
Devine, Alice Start, 200 



308 



Index 



Devine, Alvaretta, 200 
Devine, Anna Best Veith, 200 
Devine, Edward, 200 
Devine, Ellen, 200 
Devine, James, 200 
Devine, John, 200 
Devine, Margaret Mackey, 200 
Devine, Mary Ann, 200 
Devine, Theresa Fleming, 200 
Devoy, Anna McGuire, 50 
Devoy, Dennis, 28, 48, 50 
Devoy, Esther, 50, 182 
Devoy, George, 50 
Devoy, John, 50 
Devoy, Kate, 50 
Devoy, Katharine Ryan, 50 
Devoy, Louise, 50 
Devoy, Martin, 50 
Devoy, Mary, 49 
Devoy, Mary McEvoy, 49 
Devoy, Terence, 49 
Devoy, Thomas, 50 
Devoy, William, 49 
Dewitt, 207 
Diary of 1824, 207-212 
Dillon, Jennie, 160 
Dillon, John, 160 
Dillon, Martin, 124 
Dillon, Mary Lynch, 160 
Dineen, Katharine Mara, 33 
Dineen, Thomas, 33 
Dineen, William, 33 
Dissel, Percy McCarthy, 22 
Dissel, Theodore, 22 
Dixon, Amy Knapp, 248 
Dixon, Emmeline Alvord, 249 
Dixon, George, 249 
Dixon, Thomas, 247-249 
Dodge, Ada Roberts, 264 
Dodge, David P., 264 
Doheny, Bridget, 126 
Doheny, Edward, 126 
Doheny, George, 126 
Doheny, James, 126 
Doheny, Mary, 126 
Doheny, Timothy, 126 
Doherty, Daniel, 124 
Doherty, Elizabeth McLaugh- 
lin, 236 
Doherty, Hugh, 124 
Doherty, John, 124, 159 



Doherty, Patrick, 236 
Doherty, William, 124 
Dolan, Agnes I., 239 
Dolan, Anne, 241 
Dolan, Elizabeth, 241 
Dolan, Ellen Kelley, 237 
Dolan, James E., 241 
Dolan, Keryon, 241 
Dolan, Margaret E., 239 
Dolan, Martin, 237, 238, 239 
Dolan, Mary Agnes, 239 
Dolan, Mary Ann, 239 
Dolan, Mary Flannery, 241 
Dolan, Mary Lannon, 239 
Dolan, Mary Reidy, 149, 239 
Dolan, Sarah, 239 
Dolan, Theresa, 239 
Dolan, Thomas Francis, 239 
Dolan, T. Frank, 149, 239 
Dolan, William, 240 
Dolan, William J., 241 
Dolphin, John, 123 
Dolphin, Matthew, 123 
Dolphin, Patrick, 123 
Donegal, 98 

Donivan, Mrs. Patrick, 258 
Donnelly family, 201 
Donohue, Anna Dolan, 241 
Donohue, Catharine, 201 
Donohue, Cornelius, 145, 201 
Donohue, Ellen, 145 
Donohue, Ellen McLaughlin, 

236 
Donohue, Dr. Florince O., 145 
Donohue, James, 68, 69, 70 
Donohue, Lucy Mosely, 145 
Donohue, Mary, 41 
Donohue, Maurice, 202, 241 
Donohue, Michael, 201 
Donohue, Timothy, 236 
Donohue and Mooney, 68, 69 
Donovan, Annie E., 122 
Donovan, Dennis, 224 
Donovan, Mary, 187 
Donovan, William, 257 
Dooling, Joanna, 37, 40 
Doran, James, 84 
Doran, Dr. John T., 266 
Doran, Margaret Brennan, 84 
Doran, Mary, 84 
Dowd, H. & W., 79 



Index 



309 



Down, 98 

Downes, Ann Downes, 140 

Downes, Charles, 266 

Downes, Mary Stapleton, 140 

Downes, Michael, 140 

Downes, Nicholas, 139 

Doyle, Agnes, 81 

Doyle, Belle Crowell, 29 

Doyle, Bertha Whitney, 81 

Doyle, Bridget Barnes, 81 

Doyle, Catharine, 29, 32 

Doyle, Catharine Neville, 30 

Doyle, Delia, 81 

Doyle, Elizabeth Mooney, 81 

Doyle, Elizabeth Prunty, 81 

Doyle, Ellen, 81, 179 

Doyle. Ellen McLaughlin, 80 

Doyle, Esther, 81 

Doyle family, 31, 35 

Doyle, Garrett, 29, 30, 31, 36 

Doyle, Hanna, 81 

Doyle, James, 29, 32, 44, 81 

Doyle, Jane McFarland, 29 

Doyle, Joanna, 133 

Doyle, John, 29, 81 

Doyle, Mary, 29 

Doyle, Mary Egan, 81 

Doyle, Mary H., 81 

Doyle, Patrick, 81 

Doyle, Robert, 81 

Doyle, Thomas, 25, 28, 29-33, 

42, 44, 64, 81 
Drake, Edward, loi 
Drake, Julia Brosnahan, loi 
Drake, William, loi 
Driscoll, Agnes, 65 
DriscoU, Ambrose C, 87 
Driscoll, Bridget, 86 
Driscoll, Catharine Louise 

Savage, 86 
Driscoll, Cornelius, 86 
Driscoll, Dennis, 85, 86, 87, 140 
Driscoll, Eliza, 86, 174 
Driscoll, Ellen, 64, 174 
Driscoll, Ellen Cronin, 173 
Driscoll, George W., 172, 174 
Driscoll, Goodwin, 85 
Driscoll, Hanna, 86 
Driscoll, Helen Thurston, 87 
Driscoll, Honora, 86 
Driscoll, J. Frances, 87 



Driscoll, James, 173, 174, 187 
Driscoll, Jeremiah, 64 
Driscoll, Johanna C. Collins, 

85, 86 
Driscoll, Julia Gallagher, 67 
Driscoll, Kate Shanahan, 172, 

\75 

Driscoll, Katharine, 174 
Driscoll, Katharine Ernestine, 

175 
Driscoll, Keith, 175 
DriscoU, Margaret, 64, 65, 174 
Driscoll, Marie McLean, 175 
Driscoll, Marietta, 174 
Driscoll, Mary, 64 
Driscoll, Mary C, 87 
Driscoll, Martin, 65 
Driscoll, Michael, 173 
Driscoll, Michael E., 174 
Driscoll, Milburge, 87 
Driscoll, Richard, 86 
Driscoll, Richard L., 87 
Driscoll, Timothy, 67 
Drum, parish of, 2^7 
Drumard Parish, 128 
Dublin, 98 

DuBois, Bishop John, 17, 54 
Duggan, Kate, 40 
Duffaney, William, 269 
Duffy, Father, 29 
Dumfeeney, parish of, 80 
Dunbar, Elizabeth, 160 
Dunbar, Miss, 240 
Dundas, Mrs., 189 
Dunfee, Edward, 102, 125 
Dunfee, John, 102, 126 
Dunlap, Adam, 243 
Dunlap, George, 243, 244 
Dunlap, Gillespie, 244 
Dunlap, John, 243 
Dunn, Agnes, 37 
Dunn, Anna, 37 
Dunn, Catharine, 37 
Dunn, Catharine Murphy, 36, 

44 
Dunn, Edward, 36 
Dunn, Ellen, 37 
Dunn family, 201 
Dunn, Joanna, 230 
Dunn, John, 78, 382 
Dunn, Katharine, 37 



310 



Index 



Dunn, Katharine Lawton, 37 

Dunn, Margaret, 37 

Dunn, Margaret Kelly, 36 

Dunn, Mary, 37 

Dunn, Morgan, 124 

Dunn, Patrick, 36 

Dunn, Thomas, 37, 266 

Dunn, William, 28, 36, 254 

Dustin, Mr., 159 

Dustin, Sarah Hurst, 159 

Dwyer, Dennis, 196 

Dwyer, James, 151 

Dwyer, Katharine Corcoran, 

145 

Dwyer, Mary, 160 
Dwyer, Michael, 145 
Dwyer, Nellie, 151 
Dwyer, Thomas, 160 
Dwyer, William J., 145 

Eagen, Dr. George, 221 
Ealden, Anna M. Walton, 214, 

217 
Ealden, Cornelius J., 217 
Ealden, Eliza Price, 217 
Ealden, Emma Gardiner, 217 
Ealden, Joseph, 214, 217 
Ealden, Maria Jane, 217 
Ealden, May, 217 
Ealden, Robert, 217 
Ealden, Robert Walton, 215, 

216, 217 
Ealden, William, 215, 217 
Effigy on Liberty Pole, 107 
Effigy, The, 107, 291 
Egan, Agnes Geraldine, 169 
Egan, Alice, 169 
Egan, Gertrude, 169 
Egan, James, 169 
Egan, John, 169 
Egan, Martha, 169 
Egan, Mary, 81 
Egan, Mary Lynch, 169 
Egan, Patrick, 246 
Egan, Rose Frances, 169 
Egan, Seymour, 169 
Egan, Thomas Webb, 169 
Eglis, Parish of, 94 
Eighty years of friendship, 44 
Elbridge, 253 
Ehot, Ellen McCarthy, 18 



Eliot, Richard, 18 

Ellis, Clarence, 22 

Ellis, Mary A. McCarthy, 22 

Emmett, Thomas Addis, 21, 

287 
Emmott, James, 76 
Emory, Percy McCarthy, 20 
Emory, Thomas, 20 
Ennis, 32, 212 
Ennis, Hannah Cuddeback, 

234 
Ennis, Jacobus, 233 
Ennis, James, 233, 234 
Enright, Timothy, 206 
Enthusiasm, Patriotic, 293 
Epitaphs, 164 

Fabius, 265 

Fagan, David, 42, 44 

Fagan, Patrick, 44 

Fagan, Peter, 44 

Fagan, Thomas, 42 

Fannett, 236 

Farley, Bernard, lOO 

Farley, Catharine, 100 

Farley, Charles, 100 

Farley, Edward, 94, 99, 100 

Farley, Eliza Kearney, 100 

Farley, Eugene, 100 

Farley, John, 1 00, 221 

Farley, Laura B. Smith, 100 

Farley, Mary, 100 

Farley, Mary Fitzpatrick, 100, 

221 
Farley, Patrick, 100 
Farmer, Bridget, 37 
Farmer, Margaret Dunn, 37 
Farmer, Patrick, 37 
Farmer, Thomas, 37 
Farmer, Dr. Thomas P., 37 
Farmer, William B., 37 
Farr, Archibald, 230 
Farrar, James, 217 
Farrar, Lula Leyden, 217 
Farrell, Bridget, 47 
FarrcU, Daniel, 47 
Farrell, Ellen, 170 
Farrell, Garrett, 170 
Farrell, Jeremiah, 47 
Farrell, John, 276, 277 
Farrell, Margaret, 41, 129 



Index 



311 



Farrell, ]\Iary, 34, 47 
Farrell, Mary Devoy, 47, 49 
Farrell, Richard, 47, 50 
Farrell, Thomas, 47 
Farrell, William, 124 
Faulkner, Nancy, 223 
Fay, Augustus, 192 
Fay, Edward, 195 
Fay, Oris, 192, 196 
Fay, William, 192, 196 
Feaney, Granny, 124 
Feaney, James, 124 
Feaney, John, 124 
Fechter, Theresa, 84 
Feeley, Hannah Dee, 235 
Feeley, James D., 235 
Feighery, James, 94 
Fcldsmith, Mary Schug, 112 
Fellows, Harry, 240 
Fellows, Mary McCuUoch, 240 
Fcnnell, Helen McCarthy, 252 
Fennell, Martin, 252 
Fenncll, Patrick, 252 
Fermanagh, 99 
Fermoy, 134 
B'errel, Thomas, 254 
Fethard, 99 
Finnegan, George, 85 
Finnegan, James, 85 
Finnegan, John, 85 
Finnegan, Margaret Lighton, 

85 
Finnegan, Rev. Thomas, 85 
Fists, The Appeal to, 54 
Fitzgerald, Andrew, 224 
Fitzgerald, Anna, 226' 
Fitzgerald, David, 226 
Fitzgerald, Elizabeth, 226 
Fitzgerald, Ellen, 156 
Fitzgerald, Hanna Sullivan, 45 
Fitzgerald, James, 147, 228 
Fitzgerald, Jeremiah, 226 
Fitzgerald, John, 42, 226, 233 
Fitzgerald, Margaret Murpliy, 

35. 45 
Fitzgerald, Susanna, 226 
Fitzgerald, Thomas, 35, 45 
Fitzgerald, William, 226 
Fitz-Mae, 199 

Fitzpatrick, Daniel, 100, 221 
Fitzpatrick, Ellen, 221 



Fitzpatrick, Mary, 100 
Fitzpatrick, Mary Fogarty, 

100 
Fitzpatrick, Michael, 221 
Fitzsimmons, Anna Maria, 218 
Fitzsimmons, Anna M. Walton 

Ealden, 214, 217 
Fitzsimmons, Elisha, 218 
Fitzsimmons, George William, 

218 
Fitzsimmons, John Walton, 2 1 8 
Fitzsimmons, Thomas F., 218 
Fitzsimmons, William, 214,217 
Flaherty, 199 
Flanigan ftmiily, 257 
Flannery, Mary, 116, 240, 241 
Flattery, Thomas, 276, 277 
Fleming, 199 
Fleming family, 275 
Fleming, James, 129 
Fleming, John, 76, 129, 275 
Fleming, Alargaret Haley, 201 
Fleming, Mary Ann, 129 
Fleming, Michael, 129, 201 
Fleming, Parnell, 85 
Fleming, Patrick, 129 
Fleming, Robert, 276 
Fleming, Tasiana Lighton, 85 
Fleming, Theresa, 200 
Fleming, Thomas, 129 
Fleming, Timothy, 129 
Fleming, William, 129 
Fleming, Winifred, 129 
Fleming, Winifred Rogers, 129 
Flynn, Robert R., 269 
Fogarty, John, 221 
Fogarty, Mary, 100 
Fogarty, Michael, 103 
Fogarty, Pierre, 221 
Fogarty, Sarah, 103 
Fogarty, Sarah Grant, 103 
Foley, Agnes, 138 
Foley, Ellen Byrne, 138 
Foley, John, 138 
Foley, Kate, 138 
Foley, Margaret, 138 
Foley, Mary, 138 
Foley, Michael, 277 
Foley, Patrick, 138 
Foley, Peter, 138 
Font, Holy Water, 294 



312 



Index 



Foran, Esther Castle, 89 
Foran, Dr. James, 25, 87-89, 

III 
Forbes, Lord, 292 
Ford, Jane, 206 
Ford, John, 229, 281, 282 
Ford, Martin M., 76, 251 
Ford, Nancy Slattery, 65, iii 
Ford, Patrick, 28, 65 
Forman, Judge Joshua, 73, 74, 

78, 82 
Fox, Daniel, 251 
Foy, Mary, 119 
Franklin, Bridget, I ID 
Fraser, Alice, 239 
Fraser, Alice Connors, 239 
Fraser, John, 239 
Fraser, Margaret E. Dolan, 

239 
Fraser, Sarah, 239 
Fraser, Theresa, 239 
Freeman, Lucinda, 53 
French at Split Rock, 188, 198 
Frontier, Western, 27 
Funda, John, 67 
Funda, Kate Gallagher, 67 
Funeral Customs, 183 
Fury, Beady, 58 
Fury, Catharine, 58 
Fury, Ellen, 58 
Fury, Jane, 58 
Fury, John, 58 
Fury, Patrick, 57, 58 
Fury, Richard, 58 
Fury, William, 58 
Fyler, Ada C, 126 
Fyler, Asa, 194 
Fyler, Asa C, 126 

Gaherty, Jane Ford, 206 
Gaherty, Mary, 206 
Gaherty, Patrick, 206 
Gale, Gertrude Hand, 66 
Gale, Henry, 44, 66 
Gallagher, Anna, 67 
Gallagher, Antony, 67 
Gallagher, Elizabeth Hanley, 

67 

Gallagher, Farrell, 123 
Gallagher, Hugh, 67, 123 
Gallagher, John, 67, 124 



Gallagher, Julia, 67 
Gallagher, Kate, 67 
Gallagher, Maria, 63, 67 
Gallagher, Mary, 67 
Gallagher, Mary Killgallon, 67 
Gallagher, Owen, 115, 124 
Gallavan, Jesse, 124 
Gallavan, Margaret, 127 
Galvin, Frances, 90, 94 
Galvin, James, 94 
Galway, 99 
Gamble, Andrew, 235 
Gamble, John, 235 
Gamble, Sarah Gray, 235 
Gannon, Alice, 151 
Gannon, Philip, 151 
Gannon, Sarah Coyne, 151 
Gardiner, Emma, 217 
Garrett, George, 217 
Garrett, Sarah Tallman, 217 
Garrity, Margaret, 115 
Garry Owen, 1 1 1 
Garry-Owens, The, 56 
Gavigan, Captain, 53 
Gavigan, Catharine, 144 
Gavigan, Mary, 171 
Gavigan, Mary O'Neill, 53 
Gavigan, Rose, 53, 157 
Gaynor, Edward, 277 
Gaynor, John, 277 
Gaynor, Michael, 277 
Gaynor, Patrick, 277 
Geagan, Catharine D'Arcy, 

128 
Geagan, Edward, 128 
Geagan, John, 128 
Geagan, Margaret Gray, 128 
Geagan, Matthew, 128 
Geary, John, 223 
Geary, Polly, 223 
Geddes, 205 
Geer, James, 230 
Geer, Joanna Dunn, 230 
Geer, Morris, 230 
Geer, William S., 251 
Gere, Mrs. 124 
Gere, Patrick, 123 
Ghosts, 297 
Giblin, Michael, 124 
Gillespie family, 236 
Gillespie, Maria Louise, 236 



Index 



313 



Glass, Alexander, 253, 254 
Glass, Christina Jenkinson, 253 
Glass, Edgar Patterson, 254 
Glass, Edgar Toll, 254 
Glass, Emily Julia, 254 
Glass, Henrietta Jessup, 254 
Glass, James, 253, 254 
Glass, Joseph J., 253, 254 
Glass, Joseph Jessup, 254 
Glass, Letitia, 253 
Glass, Margaret, 253 
Glass, Maria Mitchell, 254 
Glass, Martha, 253 
Glass, Oliver, 253 
Glass, Sarah Eliza Toll, 253 
Glass, Sheldon, 253 
Glass, William, 253, 254 
Gleason, Amasa, 233 
Gleason, Catharine, 105, 109, 

III, 258 
Gleason, Darius, 251 
Gleason, Jason, 228 
Gleason, Mary Neal, 105 
Gleason, Michael, 93, 94, 104- 

109 
Gleason, Miss, 232, 240 
Glynn, Charles, 234 
Godfrey, Daniel, 282 
Goldsmith, Caroline, 158 
Goodwin, Miss, 85 
Gooley, Malachi, 150 
Gordon, Alexander, 227 
Gordon, James, 100 
Gordon, Mary Farley, 100 
Gordon, Matilda Wallace, 227 
Gormly, Arthur, 168 
Gormly, Catharine, 167, 294 
Gormly, Catharine Gormly, 

168 
Gormly, John, Art, 167 
Gormly, Long Sampson, 168 
Gormly, Michael, 168 
Grace, Ann, 37 
Grace, Catharine, 37, 154 
Grace, Catharine Lonergan, 

154 
Grace, Charles, 37 
Grace, Eliza O'Connell, 153 
Grace, Elizabeth, 154 
Grace, Ellen, 154 
Grace, George, 37 



Grace, John, 37 
Grace, Margaret, 154 
Grace, Mary, 37, 154 
Grace, Mary Dunn, 37 
Grace, Pairick, 37 
Grace, Pierce, 153, 154 
Grace, Stephen L., 154 
Grace, Thomas, 154 
Grace, William D., 37 
Graham, A. G., 254 
Graham, Henry, 254 
Graham, Marie Stevens, 254 
Graham, Miss, 53 
Grant, Dr. Henry, 1 1 1 
Gray, of Longford, 290 
Gray, James, 128 
Gray, Margaret, 128 
Gray, Sarah, 235 
Gregg, Captain James, 274 
Grennan, 23 
Grier, John, 206 
Griffin, the blacksmith, 123 
Griffin, Bridget, 127 
Griffin, Daniel, 275 
Griffin, Ellen, 127 
Griffin, Ellen Lynch, 127 
Griffin, Heman, 256 
Griffin, James, 127 
Griffin, John, 124, 127 
Griffin, Mary, 127 
Griffin, Maurice, 124 
Griffin, Michael, 127 
Griffin, Patrick. 124, 138 
Griffin, Thomas, 127 
Griffin, William, 277 
Grimes, Joseph, 276 
Grimes, Mary, 263 
Grimes, "Mother," 276 
Grimes, Polly, 276 
Grimes, Thomas, 263 
Guerdet, Father, 65 
Guilick, Catharine, 159 

Hackett, Burr, 271 
Hackett, Elizabeth Dolan, 241 
Hackett, Father, 66 
Hackett, Miles B., 266 
Hackett, William, 241 
Hackett, Mrs. William, 240 
Haley, Andrew, 201 
Haley, Ann, 115 



314. 



Index 



Haley, Ann Murphy, 114, 202 
Haley, Ann Preston, 201 
Haley, Anthony, 114, 115, 291 
Haley, Elizabeth Welch, 114 
Haley, James, 114, 115, 201, 

202 
Haley, John, 201 
Haley, Margaret, 201 
Haley, Margaret, McAndrews, 

201 
Haley, Margaret McGrath, 115 
Haley, Martin, 114, 115, 202 
Haley, Mary, 115 
Haley, Patrick, 114, 200, 201 
Haley, Peter, 201 
Hall, Anna, 112 
Hall, Bridget, no 
Hall, Bridget C, 112 
Hall, Bridget Franklin, no 
Hall, Catharine, no 
Hall, Catharine Gleason, in 
Hall, David, no, 123, 233 
Hall, David P., n2 
Hall, Emma Tipplon, 112 
Hall, Frank v., n2 
Hall, George, 76 
Hall, Gertrude, 112 ^ 
Hall, Katharine N., 112 
Hall, Mary A., 112 
Hall, Mary Schug Feldsmith, 

112 
Hall, Michael, 112 
Hall, Miss, 232 
Hall, Patrick, 99, 109 
Hall, Thomas R., 76 
Hall, William, no, 112 
Halligan, Ellen M., 138 
Hand, Christopher, 36, 42, 

44, 66 
Hand, Gertrude, 66 
Hand, Jerry, 251 
Hand, John, 42, 66, 251 
Hand, Mander, 251 
Hand, Reuben, 251 
Hand, Thomas, 42, 66 
Handwright, 77 
Handy, Timothy J., 282 
Hanley, Elizabeth, 67 
Hanna, Ellen Fitzpatrick, 221 
Hanna, James Irwin, 221 
Harbor Brook, 267 



Harrington, Carmi, 223 

Harrington, Nicholas, 223 

Harroun, James, 70 

Hart of Hartsville, 276 

Hart, Clarence, 269 

Hart, Eber, 251 

Hart, Henry C., 271 

Hart, Dr. John, 224 

Hart, Pardon, 281 

Hart, Paul, 123 

Hart, Samuel, 76 

Hart, Stephen, 281 

Hart, Thomas, 76 

Harvey, Gordon, 189 

Harvey, James, 199 

Hastings, Captain John, 190 

Hastings, Thomas, 199 

Hausenfrats, Jacob, 23, 64 

Hawkins, Polly, 227 

Hayes, Benjamin, 262 

Hayes, Cornelius, Jr., 186 

Hayes, Erastus, 226 

Hayes family, 190 

Hayes, James, 199 

Hayes, John, 199 

Hayes, Samuel, 242 

Haynes, David, 282 

Haynes family, 283 

Haynes, Martha Wilson, 282 

Hays, Archibald, 194, 196 

Healy, John, 253, 254 

Healy, Nathan, 242 

Healy, Dr. Samuel, 204 

Hcaney, John, 199 

Heas, Rev. Michael, 54, 127, 

152, 177, 181, 182 
Heffron, Dennis, 145 
Heffron, John, 124 
Heffron, Dr. John Lorenzo, 

145 
Heffron, Dr. Lorenzo, 266 
Henderson, Hazel, 282 
Henderson, John, 258 
Henderson, Peter, 258 
Henderson, Phineas, 258 
Hennesy, Mary, 80, 135 
Hennigan, Joseph, 272 
Herald, Mary, 151 
Herald, Syracuse Evening, 33 
Herald, Syracuse Sunday, 46 
Hewitt, Anna B., 112 



Index 



315 



Hewitt, Bernard H., 112 
Hewitt, Gertrude R., 112 
Hewitt, Katharine N., 112 
Hewitt, Mary A. Hall, 112 
Hewitt, Mary Florence, 112 
Hewitt, Richard L., 112 
Hewitt, William P. H., 112 
Hickey, Edward, 95 
Hickey, Elizabeth, 276 
Hickey, Honora, 95 
Hickey, James, 276 
Hickey, John, 275 
Hickey, Mary, 255 
Hicks, Charles T., 77 
Hicks, John F., 269 
Hicks, Mary A., 245 
Hicks, William, 'j'j 
Higgins, Alfred, 89 
Higgins, B. L., 77 
Higgins, Cornelius, 76 
Higgins, James, 249 
Higgins, William N., 251 
Hill, Isaac, 253, 254 
Hirsch, Kate Cassidy, 131 
Hirsch, John R., 131 
Hoag, Mrs., 35 
Hoban, James, 199 
Hoban, Patrick, 199 
Hogan, 199 
Hogan, Joseph, 23 
Hogan, Katharine Lalor, 23 
Hogan, Michael, 76 
Hogan, Mrs., 187 
Hogan, Thomas, 240 
Holger, Anna, 133 
Holland, Patrick, 277 
Holland, Timothy, 277 
HoUoran, Patrick, 276 
Holt, Anna E. McCarthy, 22 
Holt, Charles Holland, 22 
Holy Cross, 103, 144 
Holy Cross College, 28 
Homesick, 294 
Hoolihan, Honora Clary, 65 
Hoolihan, John, 63, 65 
Hoolihan, Michael, 65 
Hopkins, Edwin P., 202 
Hopkins, Elijah, 145, 202 
Hopkins, Hiram, 276 
Hopkins, John, 201 
Hopkins, Joseph, 281 



Hopkins, Joseph D., 256 
Hopkins, Mr., 67, 74 
Hopkins, Samuel Miles, 263 
Hopkins, William E., 145 
Horan, Margaret Byrne, 137 
Horan, Michael, 137 
Hospitality, 15, 26, 39, 92 
Hostility, 26, 27 
Howard, Michael, 219 
Howe, Abram, 222 
Howe, Catharine Cunningham, 

283 
Howe, Eunice Kennedy, 222 
Howe family, 283 
Howe, Samuel, 283 
Hughes, 190 
Hughes, Archbishop, 41 
Hughes, Catharine Gavigan, 

144 
Hughes, Charles, 144, 157 
Hughes, Eugene, 144 
Hughes, Freeman, 205, 206 
Hughes, James, 144, 196 
Hughes, Joseph A., 269 
Hughes, Mary, 129, 206 
Hughes, Mary Molloy, 157 
Hughs, Bridget, 206 
Hughs, James, 206 
Hunt, Ann Murphy, 95 
Hunt, Bridget McGinnis, 95 
Hunt, Catharine McGinnis, 95 
Hunt, Charles, 95 
Hunt, Dennis, 90-95 
Hunt, Dora, 95 
Hunt, Elizabeth, 95 
Hunt, Frances, 95 
Hunt, Frances Galvin, 90, 94 
Hunt, Francis, 94, 95 
Hunt, Frank, 95 
Hunt, Harriet, 122 
Hunt, Honora Hickey, 95 
Hunt, James, 94, 95 
Hunt, Johanna, 95 
Hunt, John, 94, 228 
Hunt, Kittie, 94 
Hunt, Margaret, 95 
Hunt, Mary, 94, 95 
Hunt, Matthew, 94 
Hunt, Michael, 90, 93, 94 
Hunt, Patrick, 94 
Hunt, Stephen, 95 



3i6 



Index 



Hunt, Sumner Lyman, 255 
Hunt, Theresa, 95 
Hunt, Thomas, 94 
Hunt, Walter, 251 
Hunt, William, 95 
Hunter, Catharine, 263 
Hurley, Thomas, 180 
Hurst, Ellen, 159 
Hurst, George, 48, 159 
Hurst, John, 48, 159 
Hurst, Margaret, 159 
Hurst, Mary Beatson, 159 
Hurst, Samuel, 48, 159 
Hurst, Sarah, 159 
Hurst, Scott, 159 
Hurst, Thomas, 48, 159 
Hutchinson, John, 255 

Indian Legend, An, 283, 284 

Indians, 43, 49, 151, 268 

Inniskillen, 43 

Iowa, first white child of, 42 

Irish Counties, 98 

Irish Surnames, 161 

Jackman family, 35 
Jackman, Patrick, 42, 44, 64 
James & Cummings, 275 
Jaqueth, Sampson, 120 
Jenkinson, Christina, 253 
Jennings, Anthony, 124 
Jessup, Henrietta, 254 
Jesuit Well, The, 34, 292 
Johnson, Anastasia Phalen, 

116 
Johnson, Elizabeth Lalor, 23 
Johnson, James, 23 
Johnson, Sir John, 267 
Johnson, Mary Butler, 261 
Johnson, Patrick J., 116 
Johnson, Rufus, 261 
Johnson, Thomas, 116 
Johnson, Sir William, 6 
Joy, Bridget Cummings, 159, 

161 
Joy, Bridget Meagher, 159 
Joy, Catharine GuiHck, 159 
Joy, David, 266 
Joy, Edward, 159 
Joy, Ellen, 159 
Joy, Jane Vrooman, 159 



Joy, John, 159 

Joy, Mary, 161 

Joy, Mary Ann, 159 

Joy, Mary Ann Meagher, 159 

Joy, Mary Cleary, 159 

Joy, Mary Powers, 159 

Joy, Michael, 159 

Joy, Nicholas, 159, 161 

Joy, Patrick, 159 

Joy, Pierce, 159 

Joy, Polly, 266 

Joy, Richard, 158, 159 

Joy, Thomas, 159 

Joyce, 124 

Kanaley, Edward, 22 

Kanaley, Genevieve McCar- 
thy, 22 

Kane, George, 251 

Kane, Joanna McSweeny, 16 

Kanturk, 236 

Kasson, James, 194 

Kasson, Louis, 194 

Kasson, Nathaniel, 194 

Kavanaugh, Anna, 85 

Kearnan, Mary, 188 

Kearnan, Thomas, 188 

Kearney, Bridget 124 

Kearney, Carmencita Tim- 
mons, 100 

Kearney, Eliza, 100 

Kearney, Mary E., 18 

Kearney, Patrick, 100 

Kearney, William, 199 

Keeners, 183 

Keefe, Daniel, 28, 44 

Keefe, JohnC., 28 

Keeler, Daniel, 76 

Keeler, Jeremiah, 76 

Keeler, Marie Theresa, 84 

Kehoe, Ann McCarthy, 161 

Kehoe, Catharine Burns, 161 

Kehoe, James, 161 

Kehoe, James J., 161 

Kelley, Alice Gannon, 151 

Kelley, Alice McGraw, 178 

Kelley, Andrew, 124 

Kelley, Anna, 150, 151 

Kelley, Anthony, 124 

Kelley, Bernard, 151 

Kelley, Catharine, 151, 178 



Index 



317 



Kelley, Catharine Delehanty, 

180 
Kelley, Charles, 151 
Kelley, Daniel, 151 
Kelley, Edmund, 177, 178 
Kelley, Edward, 177 
Kelley, Elizabeth, 177 
Kelley, Ellen, 177, 237 
Kelley, Francis, 177 
Kelley, Frank, 151 
Kelley, James, 124, 151 
Kelley, Jane, 177 
Kelley, Jennie Mahony, 151 
Kelley, John, 151, 177 
Kelley, Katharine, 177 
Kelley, Margaret, 151, 177, 

294 
Kelley, Margaret Marion, 176 
Kelley, Margaret McAuliffe, 

151 

Kelley, Mary, 151, 177 
Kelley, Mary Butler, 151 
Kelley, Mary Coyne, 151 
Kelley, Nancy Mooney, 150 
Kelley, Nancy Reagan, 150 
Kelley, Nellie Bowler, 151 
Kelley, Nellie Dwyer, 151 
Kelley, Patrick, 124, 177 
Kelley, Richard, 175, 181 
Kelley, Rose Burns, 151 
Kelley, Sarah, 177 
Kelley, William, 151, 251 
Kelly, Daniel J., 223, 224 
Kelly, James M., 224 
Kelly, Joel F., 224 
Kelly, Margaret, 36 
Kelly, Nancy Crane, 224 
Kelly, T. D., 224 
Kelly, Thomas, 239 
Kendrick, Dennis, 99, 100 
Kendrick, Elizabeth, 100 
Kendrick, Francis B., 100 
Kendrick, James P., 100 
Kendrick, Maria Degnan, 99, 

171 
Kendrick, Mary A., 100 
Kendrick, Mary Murphy, 36, 

99 
Kendrick, Michael G., 100 
Kendrick, Thomas, 36, 99, 

171 



Kendrick, Thomas J., 100 
Kennedy, Alida, 222 
Kennedy, Bradford, 222 
Kennedy, Catharine, 160, 246 
Kennedy, Catharine Conry, 

246 
Kennedy, Dr. Dennis, 222 
Kennedy, Dennis M., 222 
Kennedy, Ellen Morehouse, 

222 
Kennedy, Eunice, 222 
Kennedy, George, 245 
Kennedy, George Nelson, 245 
Kennedy, Hiram, 222 
Kennedy, John, 246 
Kennedy, John C, 245 
Kennedy, Rt. Rev. Mgr. John 

Joseph ,138, 153 
Kennedy, Kittie, 160 
Kennedy, Lavinia, 222 
Kennedy, Lewis, 242 
Kennedy, Mary, 138, 218 
Kennedy, Mary E., 222 
Kennedy, Mary Merryfield, 

222 
Kennedy, Mehitabel, 222 
Kennedy, Michael, 186 
Kennedy, Patrick, 124, 199 
Kennedy, Sarah Ann, 222 
Kennedy, Warren, 222 
Kennelly, John, 277 
Keohane, Patrick, 276 
Kerry, 99 -^ 

Kilcommon, 239 
Kildare, 98 
Kildysart, 148 
Kilkenny, 98 
Killaloe, 116, 150 
Killarney, loi 
Killgallon, Mary, 67 
Killworth, 135 
Kimball, L. Stephen, 206 
King, Mary, 259 
Kings County, 98 
Kingsley, Margaret, 63 
Kinney, Joanna, 255 
Kinsella, Julia Tobin, 255 
Kinsella, Patrick, 255 
Kippley, Mary, 119 
Kirwin, John, 240 
Knapp, Amy, 248 



3i8 



Index 



Kneeland, Elizabeth Fitz- 
gerald, 226 
Kneeland, James H., 226 
Kneeland, Jane, 226 
Kneeland, Jonathan, 226 
Kneeland, Warren, 226 
Knobel, Margaret Shaunessy, 

80 
Knobel, Thomas, 80 
Knockbride, parish of, 180 
Konoulty, Honora, 149 
Konoulty, Michael, 149 
Kyne, John L., 245 
Kyne, Thomas, 245 

Lacy, 32 

Ladell, Nancy, 270 

Lafayette, 247 

Lafayette, General, 48, 49 

Lakin, Elizabeth Wilson, 282 

Lakin, WiUiam, 281, 282 

Lally, Michael, 124 

Lalor, Agnes, 23 

Lalor, Agnes McCarthy, 18 

Lalor, Catharine Mahony, 23 

Lalor, Elizabeth, 23 

Lalor, Genevieve, 23 

Lalor, Josephine, 23 

Lalor, Katharine, 23 

Lalor, Mary, 23 

Lalor, Percy, 23 

Lalor, Wilhelmina, 23 

Lalor, William, 18, 23 

Lamb, Colonel John, 76 

Lane, Ellen Byrne, 138 

Lane, Ezra, 234 

Lane, Maurice F., 138 

Lane, William, 254 

Lang, Emma, 29 

Langan, Anthony, 199 

Lannon, Jeremiah, 237 

Lannon, Margaret Murray, 

237 
Lannon, Mary, 237-239 
Larkin, Dr. Albert Edwin, 

146 
Larkin, Ann Walker, 271 
Larkin, Edwin D., 252 
Larkin, John, 251 
Larkin, Thomas, 271 
Laughlin, 281 



Laughlin, Dr. William, 282, 

283 
Lawless, Elizabeth, 135 
Lawless, Mary Ryan, 135 
Lawless, Michael J., 135 
Lawton, Katharine, 37 
Leach, Jefferson, 9, 24 
Leahy, 124 
Leahy, Dennis, 65 
Leahy, Ellen Driscoll, 64 
Leahy, John, 64, 65, 239 
Leahy, Kate Clary, 65 
Leahy, Matthew, 65 
Leamy, Richard, 124 
Leamy, William, 124 
Lee, Ezra, 234 
Lee, Kesiah Folgar, 12, 58 
Lee, Mary, 218 
Lee, Saybrook, 194 
Leighlin, 136 
Leitrim, 99 
Leslie, Anna, 82 
Leslie, David, 44, 82 
Leslie, David R., 82 
Leslie, Elizabeth, 82 
Leslie family, 42, 44 
Leslie, Grace, 82 
LesHe, John, 44, 81, 82, 83 
Leslie, Margaret, 82 
Leslie, Margaret Cunningham, 

81,82 
Leslie, Margaret Whitney, 82 
Leslie, Martha, 82 
Leslie, Mary, 82 
Leslie, Ross, 81, 82 
Leslie, Thomas, 82 
Lewis, Catharine Shanahan, 

171 
Lewis, Edward, 124 
Lewis, John, 124, 171 
Lewis, Thomas, 124 
Leyden, Anna, 212, 216, 217 
Leyden, Anna Walton, 212, 

216 
Leyden, Barbara, 217 
Leyden, Blanche, 216 
Leyden, Edward C, 217 
Leyden, Elizabeth, 216 
Leyden, Ella, 216, 217 
Leyden, Esther A., 217 
Leyden family, 42 



Index 



319 



Leyden, George, 212, 216, 217 

Leyden, Hanna, 216 

Leyden, Hanna Padbury, 214, 

216 
Leyden, Hart C, 216 
Leyden, Isaac H., 216 
Leyden, John, 44, 212, 214, 216 
Leyden, Kate Carahart, 214 
Leyden, Katharine, 217 
Leyden, Lula, 217 
Leyden, Margaret Garrigus, 

216 
Le3^den, Mary, 212, 214, 216, 

217 
Leyden, Major Maurice, 214, 

216 
Lej'-den, Michael, 44, 207-217 
Leyden, Molloy, 214 
Leyden, Nellie Hart, 216 
Liberty Pole, The, 107 
Lighton, Anna Kavanaugh, 85 
Lighton, Anna Laura, 84 
Lighton, Arthur, 84 
Lighton, Catharine McDer- 

mott, 84 
Lighton, C. Frank, 84 
Lighton, Edward, 66, 84 
Lighton, Electa Canfield, 84 
Lighton, Ellen Frances, 85 
Lighton, George, 84 
Lighton, James, 84 
Lighton, James McDermott, 

85 
Lighton, John, 66, 84 
Lighton, John B., 84 
Lighton, Kate, 84 
Lighton, Katharine Toole, 84 
Lighton, Louis, 84 
Lighton, Lula, 84 
Lighton, Margaret, 84, 85 
Lighton, Margaret Theresa, 84 
Lighton, Marie T. Keeler, 84 
Lighton, Martha Tilden, 84 
Lighton, Mary Burke, 84 
Lighton, Mary Doran, 84 
Lighton, Mary E., 84 
Lighton, vStella, 84 
Lighton, Tasiana, 85 
Lighton, Theresa Fechter, 84 
Lighton, Thomas, 84 
Lighton, William T., 85 



Lilly, William, 77, 155 

Lillys, The, 263 

Limerick, 99 

Linsford Glebe, 236 

Listcarroll, 63 

Little, Eliza, 38 

Liverpool, 56, 61 

Liverpool, Champions, 56 

Logan, Mr., 276 

Logan, Peter, 219 

Londonderry, 263' 

Lonergan, Catharine, 154 

Lonergan, Mary Mahar, 154 

Lonergan, Stephen, 154 

Lonesome Boy, A, 294 

Long, Bridget, 239 

Long family, 257 

Long, John, 255,256 

Long, Mary Tobin, 255 

Longford, 98, 170 

Loomis, Eleazer, 194 

Lough Gowna, 294 

Loughlin, Frank H., 84 

Loughlin, Margaret T. Ligh- 
ton, 84 

Louth, 98 

Lucid, Mary Tobin, 255 

Lucid, Michael, 255 

Ludden, Anthony, 156 

Ludden, Ellen Fitzgerald, 156 

Ludden, Rt. Pv.ev. Patrick 
Anthony, 156 

Lumber Camp, 51 

Lynch, Adelaide, 39 

Lynch, Andrew, 41, 42, 1 68 

Lynch, Andrew Jackson, 40, 42 

Lynch, Andrew J., 41 

Lynch, Anna Mahoney, 41 

Lynch, Ann Ready, 41 

Lynch, Arthur, 170 

Lynch, Augusta, 170 

Lynch, Bridget Command, 41 

Lynch, Catharine Ann Ade- 
laide, 41 

Lynch, Catharine Gormly, 1 67, 
294 

Lynch, Major Charles P., 
M.D., 42 _ 

Lynch, Cornelius, 37, 40, 41 

Lynch, Cynthia Van Loon, 41 

Lynch, Daniel, 40, 41, 42, 124 



320 



Index 



Lynch, Dennis, 40, 42 
Lynch, Edward, 40, 41, 42 
Lynch, Rev. Edward, 41 
Lynch, Eleanor Denman, 39 
Lynch, EHza Little, 38, 39 
Lynch, Ellen, 41, 127 
Lynch, Dr. George, 170 
Lynch, George, 39, 40 
Lynch, Grace, 170 
Lynch, Helen Barry, 39 
Lynch, James, 15, 28, 37-40, 

54.64 
Lynch, Joanna, 40 
Lynch, Joanna Dooling, 37, 40 
Lynch, John, 29, 38, 40, 41, 

167, 170 
Lynch, John G., 42 
Lynch, John J., 169 
Lynch, John O'SuUivan, 39 
Lynch, Josephine, 41 
Lynch, Kate Duggan, 40 
Lynch, Kate Quigley, 42 
Lynch, Katharine, 41, 170 
Lynch, Louise, 39 
Lynch, Louise Elizabeth, 41 
Lynch, Lucy, 39 
Lynch, Margaret, 41 
Lynch, Margaret Farrell, 41 
Lynch, Martha, 170 
Lynch, Mary, 39, 40, 41, 160, 

168 
Lynch, Mary Donohue, 41 
Lynch, Mary Louise, 42 
Lynch, Mary Scanlon, 40 
Lynch, Mary Schemel, 170 
Lynch, Michael, 29, 39, 40, 41 
Lynch, Minnie, 138 
Lynch, M. Louise Van Loon, 

41 
Lynch, Mr., 271 
Lynch, Patrick, 40, 41 
Lynch, Penfield Slattery, 41 
Lynch, Sarah, 41 
Lynch, Sarah Stratton, 41 
Lynch, Thomas, 39 
Lysander, 222 

McAndrews, Margaret, 201 
McAuliffe, Margaret, 151 
McAuliffe, Mary Herald, 151 
McAuliffe, Thomas, 151 



McCabe, Andrew, 224 
McCabe, Catharine, 224 
McCabe, Catharine Conlon, 

224 
McCabe, Francis, 224 
McCabe, Margaret, 224 
McCabe, Mary, 123 
McCabe, Mary Ann, 224 
McCann, Agnes, 44 
McCann, Ann McGuire, 43 
McCann, Blanche, 29 
McCann, Ella, 44 
McCann, James, 43, 44 
McCann, John, 29, 42, 43 
McCann, Martha Dana, 44 
McCann, Mary Doyle, 29 
McCann, Olivia, 44, 47 
McCann, William, 42, 43, 44, 

47 
McCansey, Charles, 230 
McCansey, Lydia Mitchell, 

230 
McCansey, James, 230 
McCarrick, John, 276, 277 
McCarthy, Agnes, 17, 18, 24 

28 
McCarthy, Andrew, 147 
McCarthy, Ann, 161 
McCarthy, Anna, 22 
McCarthy, Anna Cronly 

Toole, 18 
McCarthy, Anna Eliza, 22 
McCarthy, Catharine, 40 
McCarthy, Daniel, 40 
McCarthy, David K., 20 
McCarthy, Dennis, 17, 18, 20, 

76, 89, 146 
McCarthy, Edward A., 22 
McCarthy, Eliza, 17 
McCarthy, Elizabeth Cayon, 

22 
McCarthy, Elizabeth Stack, 13 
McCarthy, Elizabeth Toole, 

18, 20 
McCarthy, EHza Jane Pierce, 

17 
McCarthy, Ellen, 18 
McCarthy, Ellen E., 22 
McCarthy, Esther Yates, 22 
McCarthy, Eugene, 22, 146, 

219 



Index 



321 



McCarthy family, 31, 42 
McCarthy, P'rederic, 22 
McCarthy, Genevieve, 22 
McCarthy, Grace L., 22 
McCarthy, Helen, 252 
McCarthy, James, "Fitz- 

Mac, " 199 
McCarthy, Jennie Marie, 23 
McCarthy, Jeremiah, 40 
McCarthy, Joanna Lynch, 40 
McCarthy, John, 13, 18, 20 
McCarthy, John C, 22 
McCarthy, Kate, 20 
McCarthy, Mary, 17, 18, 40 
McCarthy, Mary A., 22 
McCarthy, Mary B., 19 
McCarthy, Mary Driscoll, 64 
McCarthy, Mary E. Kearney, 

18 
McCarthy, Mary R. O'Hara, 

22 
McCarthy, Millicent Carter, 

17. 19 

McCarthy, Nellie Collins, 22 
McCarthy, Patrick, 123, 240 
McCarthy, Percy, 20, 22 
McCarthy, Percy Soule, 15, 17 
McCarthy, Robert, 17, 22 
McCarthy, Sallie, 22 
McCarthy, Sarah, 18 
McCarthy, Thomas, 12-20, 

28, 38, 44, 54, 64, 76 
McCarthy, Thomas I., 22 
McCarthy, Timothy, 40 
McCarthy, William, 18, 123 
McCarthy, ZoUie Bustin, 22 
McCaslin, John, 77 
McChesney, Cora, 160 
McChesney, John, 160 
McChesney, Sarah Taft, 160 
McClain, William, 281 
McClaughry, Richard, 254 
McClosky, Cardinal, 17 
McClure, James, 263 
McClure, Sam, 228 
McCormick, James, 124 
McCormick, James Augustus, 

129 
McCormick, Mary Matthews, 

129 
McCormick, Thomas, 129 



McCrady, Mary, 236 
McCray, James, 235 
McCuUoch, Amanda, 240 
McCuUoch, Dunbar, 240 
McCulloch, George, 242 
McCuUoch, Mary, 240 
McCulloch, Robert, 240, 241, 

242 
McCullough, James, 123 
McDaniels, Benjamin, 227 
McDaniels, Bridget, 226, 227 
McDaniels, Caroline B., 227 
McDaniels, Edgar B., 227 
McDaniels, Eliza A., 227 
McDaniels, Emily B., 227 
McDaniels, George W., 227 
McDaniels, John, 226 
McDaniels, John Nelson, 227 
McDaniels, Julia A., 227 
McDaniels, Mary, 227 
McDaniels, Polly Hawkins, 

227 
McDaniels, Richard H., 227 
McDaniels, Timothy, 226 
McDermott, Catharine, 33, 84 
McDermott John, 33 
McDermott, Joseph, 77 
McDermott, Mary, 33 
McDermott, Thomas, 220 
McDonald, James, 133 
McDonald, Joanna Doyle, 133 
McDonald, John, 127 
McDonald, Margaret Galla- 

van, 127 
McDonald, Mary Griffin, 127 
McDonald, Tatiana, 133 
McDuffee, James, 227 
McDuffee, Ruth, 227 
McEvers, 263 
McEvoy, Mary, 49 
McEvoy, Michael, 49 
McFall, Charles, 86 
McFall, Hanna Driscoll, 86 
McFarland family, 35, 44 
McFarland, Jane, 29 
McFarland, Robert, 66 
McFarland, William, 29, 66 
McGee, Catharine, 62 
McGee family, 282 
McGee, James, 52 
McGee, John, 281 



322 



Index 



McGee, Patrick, 267-269 
McGinnis, Bridget, 95 
McGinnis, Catharine, 95 
McGinnis, Dora Quinn, 95 
McGinnis, John, 235 
McGinnis, Stephen, 95 
McGlocklan, James, 251 
McGough, James, 219 
McGough, Margaret, 219 
McGovern, Mary, 171 
McGovern, Mrs., 187 
McGovern, Roger, 199 
McGowan, H. W., 77 
McGowan, Michael, 219 
McGown, John, 254 
McGrath, Catharine, 135 
McGrath, Harold, iii, 146 
McGrath, John, 135 
McGrath, Margaret, 115 
McGrath, Margaret Garrity, 

115 

McGrath, Mark, 115 
McGrath, Mary Hennessy, 

135 

McGrath, Mrs., iii 
McGrath, Redmond, 135 
McGrath, Thomas, 146 
McGraw, Alice, 178 
McGraw, Anna, 161 
McGraw, Bridget Murphy, 36 
McGraw, Daniel, 36 
McGraw, Ellen, 36 
McGraw, John, 36 
McGraw, Mary Murray, 161 
McGraw, Matilda, 36 
McGraw, Patrick, 161 
McGraw, Peter, 36 
McGraw, William, 36 
McGrory, Mary, 236 
McGuire, Ambrose, 182 
McGuire, Ann, 43 
McGuire, Anna, 50 
McGuire, Bernard, 171 
McGuire, Bridget IDegnan, 171 
McGuire, Cusack, 180 
McGuire, Dennis, 180 
McGuire, Elizabeth Marion, 

180 
McGuire, Esther, Devoy, 50, 

182 
McGuire, Francis, 180 



McGuire, Rev. Francis De 

Sales, 182 
McGuire, John, 50, 180, 182 
McGuire, Martha, 255 
McGuire, Mary, 180, 182, 255, 

294 
McGuire, Peter, 100, 176, 180 
McGuire's Bridge, 43 
McGurk, James, 297 
McGurn, Jane, 137 
McHale, Nora Burke, 239 
McHale, Robert, 239, 240 
McHarrie, Lydia, 279 
McHarrie, John, 278-281 
Machen, William, 242 
McHugh, Mary, 236 
Mack, John, 160 
Mack, Margaret Ellen Burns, 

160 
Mack, Michael, 160 
Mack, Nano Buckley, 160 
McKay, Daniel, 234 
McKay, Henry, 263 
McKay, Philo, 263 
McKay, Sally, 263 
McKay, Seth, 234 
McKay, Simon, 234 
McKee, Billy, 275 
McKee, David, 254 
McKee, James, 234 
McKeever, Arthur, 29 
McKeever, Charles, 29 
McKeever, Ellen, 29 
McKeever, Francis, 29 
McKeever, John, 29 
McKeever, John Seymour, 29 
McKeever, Margaret, 29 
McKeever, Mary Cooney, 29 
McKeever, Nicholas, 29 
McKenzie, Alexander, 65 
McKenzie, Jane, 65 
McKenzie, Robert, 65 
McKenzie, William, 65 
McKevett Soldiers, 112 
Mackey, John, 200 
Mackey, Margaret, 200 
McKeys, Daniel,' 263 
Mackin, John, 42, 44 
Mackin, Owen, 42, 44 
Mackin, Captain Thomas, 6 
McKinley, Gilbert, 270 



Index 



323 



McKinley, Dr. Hays, 269 

McKinley, Hugh, 270 

McKinley, Nancy Ladell, 270 

McKinley, William, 271 

McKinney, Anne, 235, 236 

McKinney, John, 235 

McKown, 282 

McLaughlin, Andrew, 80 

Anne, 131, 132 
Anne McKinney, 



McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 

236 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 

80 
McLaughlin 



Bridget Mc- 
Laughlin, 80 

Catharine, 132, 



Bridget, 80, 132 
Bridget Gavigan, 



McLaughlin 

236 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 

80 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 

236 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 

236 
McLaughlin 

236 
McLaughlin 

236 
McLaughlin 

lin, 132 
McLaughlin 

131 

McLaughlin 
132, 240 
McLaughlin 
McLaughlin 

131 

McLaughlin, William, 236 
McLaury, Richard, 281 
McLean, Alexander, 70 
McLean, Dora, 160 
McLean, James, 124 
McLean, John, 160 



Cornelius, 236 
Edward, 81, 132 
Elizabeth, 236 
Ellen, 80, 236 
Honora Burke, 

Hugh, 236 

James, 235, 236 
John 132, 236 

Mary, 80, 132, 

Mary Casey, 236 
Mary McCrady, 

Mary McGrory, 

Mary McHugh, 

Mary McLaugh- 

Mary Masterson, 

Patrick, 81, 131, 

Peter, 80 
Thomas, 80, 124, 



McLean, Marie, 175 
McLean, Mary O'Brien, 160 
McMahon, Arthur, 52 
McMahon family, 50, 52 
McMahon, Frank, 52 
McMahon, John, 52 
McMahon, Thomas, 52 
McMahon, William, 52 
McManus, Thomas, 127 
McMechen, Henry S., 269 
McMenome, Barney, 219 
McMillen, Asa, 250 
McMillen, James, 250 
McMillen, Joseph, 250 
McMillen, Peter, 250 
McMuUen, 234 
McMullen, Hugh, 254 
McMuUen, Katy, 234 
McNally, Dunlap, 240 
McNally, James, 240 
McNally, John, 239, 240, 244 
McNally, Robert, 240 
McNamara, John, 116 
McNamara, Julia, 116 
McNamara, Mary Flannery, 

116 
McNaughton, James, 269 
MaNaughton, John, 269 
McNaulty, James, 201 
McNeill, Charles, 81 
McNeill, Daniel, 276 
McNeill, Hanna Doyle, 81 
McNeill, Patrick, 20i 
McNevin, Dr., 21 
McQueen, Daniel, 251 
McQueen, John, 64, 270 
McQueen, Nancy, 269 
McQueen, Peter, 251 
McQueen, Robert, 64, 269 
McQueen, R. Bruce, 269 
McSloy, Anna Dunn, 37 
McSloy, Hugh, 37 
McSweeny, Edmund, 12 
McSweeny, EHzabeth, 12. 44 
McSweeny, Joanna, 16 
McTee, Bernard, 291 
McTee, Patrick, 291 
McVey, James, 220 
McVey, Joseph H., 220 
Mahar, Alice M., 221 
Mahar, Dennis, 199 



324 



Index 



Mahar, Esther Doyle, 8i 
Mahar, James, 220, 
Mahar, Margaret, A., 221 
Mahar, Mary, 154 
Mahar, Mary Boyle, 220 
Mahar, Mary J. Callahan, 221 
Mahar, Michael, 220, 221 
Mahar, William J., 81 
Mahoney, Anna, 41 
Mahony, Catharine, 23 
Mahony, Rev. Francis, 23 
Mahony, Jennie, 151 
Malay, 124 
Malay, Alice, 179 
Malay, Catharine Kelley, 179 
Malay, Edward, 179 
Malay, Ellen, 179 
Malay, Ellen Doyle, 179 
Malay, Francis, 179 
Malay, James, 179 
Malay, John, 179 
Malay, Michael, 179 
Malay, Richard, 179 
Malay, Thomas, 179 
Malay, William, 179 
Mallow, 47, 64 
Maloney, Catharine, 62, 63 
Maloney, Catharine, McGee, 

62 
Maloney, James, 62 
Maloney, James P., 63 
Maloney, John, 63 
Maloney, Louise, 63 
Maloney, Lucy, 43, 63 
Maloney, Margaret, 62, 63 
Maloney, Michael, 43, 47, 62, 

63 
Maloney, Patrick, 62, 189, 

277 
Maloney, Richard, 67 
Maloney, Thomas, 63, 123 
Maloney, William, 63 
Malorey, Joseph, 254 
Manahan, Charles, 123, 199 
Mangan, Bernard, 124 
Mangan, Bridget, 124 
Mangan, John, 124 
Mangan, Martin, 124 
Mangan, Michael, 124 
Mangan, Patrick, 124 
Manley, John C, 115, 124 



Manlius, 272 
Mara, Katharine, 33 
Mara, Margaret Comerford, 33 
Mara, William, 33 
Marcellus, 237 
Marion, Elizabeth, 176, 180 
Marion, Margaret, 176 
Marion, Patrick, 176, 180, 292 
Marriage Records, 163 
Martin, John, 219, 251 
Martin, Mr. 77 
Martin, Thomas, 223 
Marvin, Isabella Wilson, 282 
Marvin, Samuel, 282 
Masterson, Bridget, 206 
Masterson, Mary, 131 
Matthews, Mary, 129 
Matthews, Samuel, 25 
Matthews, Samuel R., 76 
Matthews, Vincent, 76 
Mausoleum, The, 46 
May, Mrs., 189 
Mayhew, Harriet, 218 
Mayo, 99 
Mead, James, 124 
Mead, Maurice, 124 
Meagher, Bridget, 159 
Meagher, Ellen, 149 
Meagher, James, 123 
Meagher, Mary Ann, 159 
Meagher, Michael, 123 
Meagher, Thomas, 123 
Meagher, William, 123 
Meath, 98 

Meehan, Michael, 124 
Melia, Michael, 240 
Mercer, Dr. Alfred, 88 
Merryfield, Mary, 222 
Milestone parish of, 46 
Millen, James C, 246 
Millhollen, Henry, 234 
Miney, John, 219 
Mitchell, Lydia, 230 
Mitchell, Maria, 254 
Mitchell, Mary Lalor, 23 
Mitchell, William, 230 
MoUoy, Anne Murphy, 116 
Molloy, Bridget Farrell, 47 
Molloy, Elizabeth, 157 
Molloy, Eliza Cosgriff, 157 
Molloy, John, Esq., in, 156 



Index 



325 



MoUoy, John R., 157 
Molloy, Mary, 157 
Molloy, Patrick, 42, 47 
Molloy, Sarah, 157 
Molloy, Thomas, 116, 214, 216 
Molloy, William C, 157 
Monaghan, 99 
Moncoyne, 180 
Monen, Bridget C. Hall, 113 
Monen, Edward L., 113 
Monen, Jessie, 113 
Montgomery, 78 
Montgomery, General Rich- 
ard, 21 
Mooney, Barnet, 76 
Mooney, Bridget, 151 
Mooney, Daniel, 151 
Mooney, Donohue and, 68, 69 
Mooney, Elizabeth, 81 
Mooney, John, 151 
Mooney, Margaret, 151 
Mooney, Mary Curry, 151 
Mooney, Nancy, 150 
Mooney, Sarah, 151 
Moor, William, 223 
Moore, " Cabbagehead, " 48 
Moore, Charles, 266 
Moore, David, 256 
Moore, Ebenezer, 202 
Moore, Henry, 76 
Moore, Isaac, 262 
Moore, James B., 79 
Moore, Josiah, 266 
Moran family, 201 
Moran, John, 124 
Morehouse, Ellen, 222 
Morgan, Catharine, 100 
Morgan, Thomas, 76, 254 
Morrell, Frederick, 37 
Morrissy, John, 123 
Morse, Arethusa, 259 
Mosely, Lucy, 145 
Moyston parish of, 94 
Mulherin, Bernard, 66 
Mulherin, James, 66 
Mulherin, John, 66 
Mulherin, Patrick, 66 
Mulholland, Charles, 274 
Mulholland, Daniel, 275 
Mulholland, Jennie, 275 
MuUon, Charles, 242 



Mulroy, Agnes I. Dolan, 239 
Mulroy, Bridget Roach, 239 
Mulroy, Edward, 239 
Mulroy, Emmet, 239 
Mulroy, Francis, 239 
Mulroy, Leo, 239 
Mulroy, Patrick, 239 
Murphy, Ann, 114, 199 
Murphy, Anne, 35, 116 
Murphy, Antoinette, 36 
Murphy, Bridget, 36, 199 
Murphy, Catharine, 36 
Murphy, Cornelius, 199 
Murphy, Dennis, 199 
Murphy, Ellen, 36 
Murphy, Francis, 264 
Murphy, Mrs. Hoag, 35 
Murphy, James, 33, 34, 35 
Murphy, Jeremiah, 199 
Murphy, John, 80, 123, 141, 

199, 276, 27^ 
Murphy, Katharine King, 119 
Murphy, Margaret, 35 
Murphy, Martin, 199 
Murphy, Mary, 36 
Murphy, Mary Elizabeth, 23 
Murphy, Mary Farrell, 34 
Murphy, Mary McCarthy, 18 
Murphy, Matthew, 18, 141 
Murphy, Michael, 199 
Murphy, Michael C, 123 
Murphy, Patrick, 119, 124 
Murphy, Roger, 42 
Murphy, Sarah Shaunessy, 

80 
Murphy, Thomas, 34 
Murray, Bridget McLaughlin, 

132 
Murray, Catharine Doyle, 29, 

33 
Murray, Daniel, 66 
Murray, Edward, 39 
Murray, James, 66 
Murray, John, 124 
Murray, Julia, 151 
Murray, Mary, 161 
Murray, Mary Lynch, 39 
Murray, Margaret, 237 
Murray, Michael, 29, 33, 66, 

132 
Murray, Thomas, 29, 33 



326 



Index 



National Guards, The, 139 
Neal, Mary, 105 
Nesbit, James, 227 
Nesbit, Nancy Wallace, 227 
Nesbit, Robert, 22-] 
Nesbit, William, 227 
Nesdle, Patrick, 181, 199 
Nesdle, Philip, 199 
Nesdle, Thomas, 199 
Neville, Catharine, 30 
New Birmingham, 219 
New Englanders, 27 
Newton, Richard, 125 
Nicholson, Bridget Kearney, 

124 
Nicholson, Cathanne, 144 
Nicholson, Elizabeth, 283 
Nicholson, Mary A. McGuire, 

144 
Nicholson, Peter, 144 
Nicholson, Stephen, 124 
Nicholson, William, 125 

Oak Orchard, 25 
O'Blennis, John, 8, 293 
O'Blennis, Kate VanVleck, 8, 

47 
O'Brien, Anne, 132 
O'Brien, Mrs. Anthony, 195 
O'Brien, Bridget O'Connell, 63 
O'Brien, Catharine, 63 
O'Brien, Cornelius, 276 
O'Brien, Daniel, 26, 30, 63, 67 
O'Brien, Ellen, 63 
O'Brien family, 283 
O'Brien, John, 63, 132, 199, 

276, 277 
O'Brien, Margaret, 63 
O'Brien, Margaret Kingsley, 

63 
O'Brien, Margaret O Meara, 

132 
O'Brien, Mary, 160 
O'Brien, Maria Gallagher, 63, 

67 
O'Brien, Matthew, 125, 199 
O'Brien, Michael, 125, 199 
O'Brien, William, 26, 30, 63 
O'Connell, Bridget, 63 
O'Connell, Eliza, 153 
O'Connell, John, 153 



O'Connell, Kate, 123 ' "^ 
O'Connell, Michael, 123 
O'Connell, Patrick, 123 
O'Connor, Bernard, 235 
O'Connor, Nancy, 235 
O'Connor, William, 235 
O'Donnell, Rev. James, 54, 

264 
O'Donohue, Cornelius, 145, 

201 
O'Donohue, Rev. Francis, 54 
O'Farrell, Caroline, 228 
O'Farrell, Catharine, 228 
O'Farrell, David, 228 
O'Farrell, Dinah, 227 
O'Farrell, Elihu, 228 
O'Farrell, Esther, 228 
O'Farrell, Francis A., 228 
O'Farrell, Henry, 228 
O'Farrell, John W., 228 
O'Farrell. Maria ,228 
O'Farrell, Mr., 245 
O'Farrell, William, 227, 228, 

263 
O'Farrell, William M., 228 
O'Hara, Rev. James, 153 
O'Hara, Mary R., 22 
O'Herin, Daniel, 123 
O'Herin, Honora Welch, 123 
O'Herin, James, 130 
O'Keefe, 232 
Oley, Charles E., 161 
Oley, Emma Burns, 161 
Oley, James, 161 
Oley, Martha Clancy, 161 
Oliphant family, 26, 112 
O'Meara, Margaret, 133 
O'Neill, Ann Dalton, 53 
O'Neill, Cornelius, 53 
O'Neill, Elizabeth Passmore, 

53 
O'Neill family, 35, 50, 57, 67 
O'Neill, Francis, 53 
O'Neill, George, 53, 57. 67 
O'Neill, Graham, 53 
O'Neill, Hanna Welch, 50, 53 
O'Neill, Henry, 53 
O'Neill, James, 53, 67, 135 
O'Neill, Johanna Ryan, 134 
O'Neill, John, 52, 53, 275 
O'Neill, Lucinda Freeman, 53 



Index 



z-^i 



O'Neill, Lucy Basseter, 53 
O'Neill, Mary, 53 
O'Neill, Mary Jane Brady, 53 
O'Neill, Mary Sitz, 53 
O'Neill, Matthew, 53 
O'Neill, Peter, 44, 50-54 
O'Neill, Thomas, 32 
O'Neill, William, 53 
Onondaga, 167 
Onondaga, Towns of, 77 
Organ, A Travelling Church, 

182, 294 
Oswego, Cannonading at, 293 
Otisco, 255 
Owen, Daniel, 228 
Owen, David, 258 
Owen, Joel, 77 
Owen, Lydia, 229 
Owen, Polly Ann, 229 
Owen, Thomas, 251 
Owen, Timothy, 229 

Padbury, Hanna, 214 
Pale, The, 140 
Paltz, Albert J., 82 
Paltz, Grace Leslie, 82 
Parkinson, Bridget Masterson, 

206 
Parkinson, Cora E., 206 
Parkinson, Katharine A., 206 
Parkinson, Margaret Ahern, 

206 
Parkinson, Mary E., 206 
Parkinson, Mary Gaherty, 206 
Parkinson, Patrick, 206 
Parkinson, Richard, 206 
Passmore, Elizabeth, 53 
Peak, John, 251 
Peltier, Frederic DeNoyers, 23 
Peltier, Jennie Marie Mc- 
Carthy, 23 
Peltier, Paul, 23 
Pendergast, Adelaide Lynch, 

39 

Pendergast, Andrew J. L., 41 
Pendergast, Charles, 39 
Pendergast, Edward, 41, 130, 

140 
Pendergast, James, 39 
Pendergast, J. W., 41 
Pendergast, Louise Lynch, 39 



Pendergast, Mary, 130 
Pendergast, Mary Lynch, 41 
Pendergast, Nicholas, 41 
Pendergast, Patrick, 123 
Pendergast, Peter, 130 
Pendergast, P. H., 41 
Pendergast, .Sarah, 41 
Pendergast, Sarah Rogers, 123 
Peters, Nicholas, 102 
Petty Abuses, 113 
Phalen, Anastasia, 116 
Phalen, Daniel, 125 
Phalen, Patrick, 125 
Phillips, Jane, 120 
Phillips, Nelson, 70 
Pierce, Eliza Jane, 17, 22 
Pierce, Hanna Withington, 22 
Pierce, Parker H., 22 
Pilltown, 171 
Plunkett, James, 201 
Pollock, Catharine Hunter, 263 
Pollock, Elizabeth Cameron, 

263 
Pollock, John, 263 
Pollock, Joseph C, 263 
Pompey, 260 
Powell, Ann. 239 
Powell, Bernard, 239, 240 
Powell, Clara Dolan, 239 
Powell, Daniel, 254 
Powell, Frank Dolan, 239 
Powell, John H., 239 
Powell, Leo, 239 
Powell, Mary Ann Dolan, 239 
Powell, Sarah Dolan, 239 
Power, Lawrence, 181, 199 
Powers, Anna Gallagher, 67 
Powers, James, 67 
Powers, John, 199 
Powers, Alary, 159 
Powers, Samuel, 251 
Preston, Ann, 201 
Price, Eliza, 217 
Prout, Father, 23 
Prunty, Elizabeth, 81 
Purcell, Daniel, 240 
Purcell, Mary, 212, 214, 217 

Queens County, 98 
Queenstown, 206 
(Juigley, Agues, 118, 119 



328 



Index 



Quigley, Anna Walsh, 119 
Quigley, Catharine, 118 
Quigley, Catharine O'Brien, 

116 
Quigley, John J., 117, 118 
Quigley, John T., 119 
Quigley, Julia E., 118 
Quigley, Julia McNamara, 118 
Quigley, Kate, 42 
Quigley, Katharine Julia, 119 
Quigley, Martin, 118, 119 
Quigley, Mary, 118 
Quigley, Mary Foy, 119 
Quigley, Mary Kippley, 119 
Quigley, Mary Murphy, 119 
Quigley, Mary Rosenberg, 119 
Quigley, Patrick, 118, 119 
Quigley, Simon, 118 
Quigley, Thomas, 116 
Quigley, Thomas W., 118, 119, 

298 
Quinlan, Catharine McCabc, 

224 
Quinlan, Daniel, 219, 220 
Quinlan, David, 124 
Quinlan, Dennis, 219, 220 
Quinlan, Ellen Theresa Sheedy 

220 



Qu 
Qu 
Qu 
Qu 
Qu 

Qu: 

Qu 
Qu 
Qu 
Qu 
Qu 
Qu 
Qu 
Qu 



nlan, Helen, 220 

nian, John, 220 

nlan, John Michael, 224 

nlan, Mary, 220 

nlan, Mary Bowes, 219, 220 

nlan, Mary McCabe, 124 

nlan, Mary Ryan, 219 

nlan, Patrick H., 224 

nlan, Thomas, 220 

nn, Ellen Shanahan, 171 

nn. Rev. Francis J., 171 

nn, Jeremiah, 125 

nn, John, 125, 17T 

rk, Martin, 219 



Radigan, John, 140 
Rafferty, Dominick, 125, 128 
Rafferty, Margaret Farrell, 128 
Rafferty, Mary Hughes, 128 
Randall, Ellen Campbell, 149 
Randall, James, 139 
Randall, Mary, 149 
Randall, Richard, 149 



Read, Thomas, 234 
Ready, Andrew, 125 
Ready, Ann, 41 
Ready, Ann Kennedy, 41 
Ready, Ellen, 255 
Ready, Patrick, 125 
Ready, William, 41 
Reagan, James, 187 
Reagan, Nancy, 150 
Reddin, Michael, 125 
Reed family, 283 
Reed, Hiram, 232, 253 
Reed, Hugh, 258 
Reed, Martha Glass, 253 
Reed, Richard, 203 
Reed, William, 251 
Reidy, Bridget Long, 239 
Rcidy, John, 147 
Reidy, John J., 149 
Reidy, Margaret E., 149 
Reidy, Mary, 149, 239 
Reidy, Maurice, 147, 149 
Reidy, Patrick, 147, 149 
Reidy, Sarah, 149 
Reidy, Sarah McGrath, 147 
Reidy, Simon, 147, 149, 239 
Religious Services, 15 
Repentant in Haste, 298 
Riley, Calvin, 77 
Riley, John G., 276 
Riley, Margaret DriscoU, 65 
Riley, Patrick, 7 
Riley, Terence, 65 
Ringwood, Alary, 75 
Rivalry, County, 95 
Roach, Bridget, 239 
Roberts, Ada, 264 
Robbins & Callighan, 275 
Roche, Percy McCarthy 

Dissell, 22 
Roche, Peter A., 22 
Roder, Charles Joseph, 216 
Roder, Edward, 216 
Roder, Ella Leyden, 216 
Roder, Ella Louise, 216 
Roder, Frank, 216 
Roder, Marie, 216 
Roder, Valentine, 214, 216 
Rodgers, John, 78 
Rodgers, Mr., 66 
Rogers, Anne, 123 



Index 



329 



Rogers, Bridget, 123 
Rogers, Catharine, 123 
Rogers, Hugh, 77, 122 
Rogers, James, 281 
Rogers, John, 77, 123, 124 
Rogers, Margaret, 124 
Rogers, Matthew, 124 
Rogers, Robert, 281 
Rogers, Sarah, 123 
Rogers, the Shoemaker, 124 
Rogers, Winifred, 129 
Rosenberg, Mary, 119 
Roscommon, 99 
Rowland, John, 36 
Rowland, Ellen Murphy, 36 
Russell, Ella Cody, 240 
Russell, Jonathan, 264 
Russell, Lieutenant, 78 
Ryan, 125, 199, 201 
Ryan, Ada C. Fyler, 126 
Ryan, Bertha, 118 
Ryan, Bridget Howard, 126 
Ryan, Catharine, 131, 135 
Ryan, Catharine Cronin, 134 
Ryan, Catharine McGrath, 

135 . ^ . , 

Ryan, Cathanne Quigley, 118 

Ryan, Catharine Sweeny, 118 

Ryan, Charles, 112 

Ryan, Charles J., 118 

Ryan, Charles R., 118 

Ryan, Edward, 135 

Ryan, Edward J., 118 

Ryan, Edwin, 118 

Ryan, Ellen, 135 

Ryan, Elizabeth Lawless, 135 

Ryan family, 201 

Ryan, Frances, 135 

Ryan, George, 112 

Ryan, Honora, 134 

Ryan, James, 219 

Ryan, Johanna, 134 

Ryan, John, 115, 133, 134 

Ryan, Julia Elizabeth, 118 

Ryan, Katharine, 50 

Ryan, Katharine Estella, 118 

Ryan, Lawrence, 124, 126 

Ryan, Leonard, A., 118 

Ryan, Mary, 135 

Ryan, Mary Agnes, 118 

Ryan, Michael, 112, 115 



Rj'an, Michael Lawless, 156 
Ryan, Peter Lawrence, 126 
Ryan, Thomas, 134, 135 
Ryan, T. Frank, 118 
Ryan, William, 135 

St. Columbkill, Chapel of, 295 
St. John the Baptist Church, 

23, 28, 54 
St. John, Luther, 266 
St. John, Polly Joy, 266 
St. Leger, Julia, 116 
St. Patrick's Day, 107 
St. Vincent de Paul Society, 

103 
Salina, 6 

Salt Boiling, 62, 74 
vSalt Point, 6, 55 
Salt Pointers, 56 
Sammons, Charles, 144 
Sammons, Nellie Daly, 144 
Sampson, Bessie, 217 
vSavage, Anna, 75 
Savage, Catharine Louise, 86 
Savage, Daniel, 251, 281 
Savage, John, 75 
Savage, Margaret, 75 
Savage, Mary, 75 
Savage, Mary Ringwood, 75 
Savage, Mr., 263 
Savage, Richard, 75 
Sayles, John, 177 
Scanlon, Dennis, 40 
Scanlon, Mary, 40 
vSchemel, Mary, 170 
Scotch-Irish, 285 
Scott, Miss, 159 
Scott, Thomas, H., 269 
Scull parish of, 85 
Sedgwick, James, 20 
Sedgwick, Mary B. McCarthy, 

Sennit, Bridget, 25 
vSeymour, Mary, 117 
Shanahan, Catharine, 171 
Shanahan, Edward, 171, 172 
Shanahan, Ella, 172 
Shanahan, Ellen, 171 
vShanahan, Ellen Tobin, 171 
Shanahan, Helen C. Becker, 
172 



330 



Index 



Shanahan, James, 171 
Shanahan, John, 171, 172 
Shanahan, Kate, 172 
Shanahan, Margaret Carey, 

172 
Shanahan, Mary, 171 
Shanahan, Mary E., 172 
Shanahan, Nora, 171 
Shanahan, Thomas, 171 
Shandon Bells, 23 
Shannon, Hannah, 251 
Shannon, James, 66 
Shannon, John, 28, 62, 66 
Shannon, Libbie, 66 
Shannon, Mary, 66 
Shannon, Michael, 251 
Shaunessy, James, 80 
Shaunessy, Johanna, 80 
Shaunessy, Margaret, 80 
Shaunessy, Mary, 80 
Shaunessy, Mary Bustin, 79 
Shaunessy, Mary Hennesy, 80 
Shaunessy, Mary Shaunessy, 

80 
Shaunessy, Patrick, 79 
Shaunessy, Sarah, 80 
Shaunessy, Thomas, 80 
Shaw, Elijah, 282 
Shaw, George H., 249 
Shaw, Henry, 249 
Shaw, James, 228 
Shaw, John, 249 
Shaw, Samuel, 234 
Shea, John, 256, 277 
Shea, Maurice, 125 
Shee-bog, 43 

Sheedy, Ellen Theresa, 220 
Sheedy, Mary Daly, 220 
Sheedy, John, 220, 277 
Sheehan, Thomas, 187 
Sheldon, Agnes Doyle, 81 
Sheldon, Miss, 253 
Sheldon, Ransom, 81 
Sheridan, Bernard, 125 
Sherry, Eliza, 219 
Shields, Jane, 264 
Shields, John, 264 
Shields, Patrick, 264 
Sins, Two Hated, 165 
Sisson, James, 76 
Sitz, Mary, 53 



Skaneateles, 231 
Slattery, James, 28, 65 
Slattery, Nancy, 65 
Slattery, Penfield, 41 
SHgo, 99 
Slogan, The, 56 
Small, Ellen Burke, 219 
Small, John, 219 
Small, Julia Burke, 219 
Small, Thomas, 219 
Small-pox Incident, 296 
Smith, Flora E. Burns, 120 
Smith, Fred, 22 
Smith, Grace L. McCarthy, 22 
Smith, Laura B., 100 
Smith, Lyman C, 120 
Soper, Louise, 262 
Soule, Percy, 17 
Spafford, 226 
Split Rock, 167-199 
Stanton, Amos, 78 
Stanton, Isaac, 77, 78 
Stanton, Patrick, 125 
Stanton, Rufus, 78 
Stapleton, John, 140 
Stapleton, Mary, 140 
Start, Alice, 200 
Stevens, Marie, 254 
Stevenson, Dr. Archibald, 276 
Stewart, Captain William, 17 
Stimson, James, 44, 67 
Stone Hall, parish of, 79 
Story of Kitty, The, 288-290 
Stratton, Sarah, 41 
Strong, Colonel John M., 278 
Sturdy Pioneers, 51 
Sullivan, 199 
Sullivan, Agnes L., 104 
Sullivan, Ann, 255 
Sullivan, Anna M., 104 
Sullivan, Charles M., 104 
Sullivan, Cornelius F., 104 
Sullivan, Cornelius J., 103, 104 
Sullivan, Dennis, loi, 103, 104 
Sullivan, Ellen, 103 
Sullivan, Francis, 104 
Sullivan, Hanna, 45 
Sullivan, Jeremiah, 103, 124 
Sullivan, Gen. John, 6, 223 
Sullivan, Lawrence D., 104 
Sullivan, Katharine M., 104 



Index 



331 



Sullivan, Margaret, 104 
Sullivan, Margaret Tracy, 103, 

104 
Sullivan, Mary, 103, 104 
Sullivan, Mary Sullivan, loi 
Sullivan, Mary V., 104 
Sullivan, Mary Welch, 103 
Sullivan, Michael, 206 
Sullivan, Nancy Faulkner, 223 
Sullivan, Dr. Napoleon B., 223 
Sullivan, Richard, 223 
Sullivan, Sarah E., 104 
Sullivan, Sarah Fogarty, 103, 

104 
Sullivan, Theresa Betts, 223 
Sullivan, Thomas J., 104 
Sullivan, Timothy, 140 
Sullivan, William J., 104 
Summers, Annie E. Donovan, 



122 

Summers, 
Summers, 
Summers, 
Summers, 
Summers, 
Summers, 
Summers, 
Summers, 
Summers, 
Summers, 



Mrs. Davis, 122 
Elizabeth, 121 

Harriet Hunt, 122 
Mary, 121 
May E., 122 
Moses, 112, 121, 122 
Peter, 121 
Thomas, 121 
Thomas H., 122 

William, 112, 121, 



122 
Sunderlin, Horace, 253 
Sunderlin, Margaret Glass, 253 
Swampers, The, 56 
Sweeny, Catharine, 150 
Syracuse, 72 
Syracuse House, 17 

Taft, Sarah, 160 

Tallman, Elizabeth Donnell- 

son, 217 
Tallman, James, 214, 217 
Tallman, Jenny, 217 
Tallman, Mary Leyden, 214, 

217 
Tallman, Rose, 217 
Tallman, Sarah, 217 
Tallman, William, 217 
Tappan, Gabriel, 279 
Tappan, Lydia McHarrie, 279 
Tar a, 140 



Tator, Fred I., 22t, 
Tator, James M., 223 
Tator, Polly Geary, 223 
Taylor, Patrick, 181, 190, 199 
Teague, Elmina, 204 
Teague, Jane Ann, 204 
Teague, Jemima, 204 
Teague, Jesse, 203 
Teague, Maria, 204 
Teague, Peggy, 204 
Teague, William, 204 
Tehan, Margaret F., 133 
Templederry, 218 
Templemore, 153 
Temple Patrick, parish of, 46 
Three River Point, 267 
Thurles, 105, 219 
Thurston, George F., 87 
Thurston, Helen, 87 
Thurston, Helen Borden, 87 
Tipperary, 99 
Tipperary Town, 109 
Tipplon, Emma, 112 
Titus, Eliza McCarthy, 17 
Titus, Colonel Silas, 17, 18 
Tobin, Ann Sullivan, 255 
Tobin, Bessie, 255 
Tobin, Cornelius, 255 
Tobin, Ellen, 171, 255 
Tobin, Ellen Ready, 255 
Tobin family, 257 
Tobin, James, 255 
Tobin, Joanna Kinney, 255 
Tobin, John, 255, 266 
Tobin, Julia, 255 
Tobin, Kate, 255 
Tobin, Martha McGuire, 255 
Tobin, Mary, 255 
Tobin, Mary Butler, 66 
Tobin, Mary Hickey, 255 
Tobin, Mary McGuire, 255 
Tobin, Michael, 66, 252 
Tobin, Patrick, 255, 277 
Tobin, Richard, 251, 255 
Tobin, Sarah, 255 
Tobin, William, 255 
Toll, Sarah Eliza, 253 
Toole, Anna Cronly, 18 
Toole, Elizabeth, 18 
Toole, Katharine, 84 
Toole, Thomas, 18 



332 



Index 



Toomey, Ann Haley, 115 
Toomey, Patrick, 115 
Town, Anna McCarthy, 22 
Town, John J., 22 
Town, Mary Savage, 75 
Town, Sylvester R., 75 
Tracy, John, 103 
Tracy, Margaret, 103 
Tracy, Mary, 133 
Tracy, William, 133 
Tragedy, A Canadian, 106 
Tragedy, An Averted, 30 
Tralee, 37, 127 
Trainor, Bryan, 219 
Trim, 140 
Tucker family, 201 
Tucker, Peter, 199 
TuUamore, 48 
Tully, 258 

Turner, Barbara Leyden, 217 
Turner, James M., 217 
Tyrone, 99 
Tyrrell, Roger, 125 

U. S. Navy, 38 
Upstreeters, The, 56 

Van Buren, 278 
Van Loon, Cynthia Frisbee, 41 
Van Loon, M. Louise, 41, 42 
Van Schaick, Colonel, 6 
Van Vleck, Isaac, 7, 8, 66 
Van Wie family, 283 
Veith, Anna Best, 200 
Vrooman, Jane, 159 

Walch, Anna, 119 
Walch, John, 228 
Walch, Mary, 228 
Walch, Peter J., 149 
Walch, Sarah Reidy, 149 
Walker, Ann, 271 
Wall, John, 77 
Wallace, John, 227, 228 
Wallace, Matilda, 227 
Wallace, Nancy, 227 
Walsh, John, 232, 233 
Walton, Anna, 212 
Walton, Anna Maria, 214, 217 
Walton, Bessie Sampson, 217 
Walton, Charles, 76 



Walton, George, 212 
Walton, George William, 215, 

217 
Walton, Maria Jane, 215, 217 
Walton, Mary Purcell, 213, 

214, 217 
Walton, Thomas, 212, 213, 214, 

217 
Walton Tract, The, 73 
Ward, Maurice, 199 
Ward, Thomas, 246 
Ward, William, 275 
Waterford, 99 
Watson, Mrs., 196 
Webb, James, 76, 77 
Webster, Ephraim, 76 
Welch, 44 

Welch, Anna Laura Lighten, 84 
Welch, Captain, 231 
Welch, Comer, 254 
Welch, Daniel, 103 
Welch, David, 231 
Welch, Elizabeth, 115 
Welch, Hanna, 50 
Welch, Harry, 50 
Welch, Honora, 123 
Welch, Ira, 224 
Welch, Joanna, 125 
Welch, Mary, 103 
Welch, Samuel, 231 
Welch, Walter, 84 
Welch, William, 281 
Weldon, Elisha Fitzsimmons, 

218 
Weldon, Mr., 218 
Well, Jesuit, 34 
West, Alonzo, 36 
West, Ellen Murphy, 36 
Westmeath, 98 
Wexford, 98 
Wexford Boys, 32 
Whalen, John F., 157 
Whalen, Martin, 125 
Whalen, Sarah MoUoy, 157 
White, John, 39 
White, Lucy Lynch, 39 
Whiting, Nate, 57 
Whitney, Bertha, 81 
Wliitney, Elisha, 82 
Whitney, Helen Forman, 82 
Whitney, Margaret, 82 



Index 



333 



Wickham, Bridget McDan- 

iels, 227 
Wicklaam, George D., 227 
Wicklow, 98 

Wilkinson, Agnes Dunn, 37 
Wilkinson, Richard, 37 
Wilson, Almira, 202 
Wilson, Elizabeth, 282 
Wilson, Isabella, 282 
Wilson, James, 282 
Wilson, John, 282 
Wilson, Joseph, 224, 281, 282 
Wilson, Martha, 282 



Wilson, Robert, 273, 274, 282 
Wilson, William, 222, 224 
Wood, Thaddeus, 25 

Yarns, 288 
Yates, Esther, 22 
Yore, Michael, 44 
Young, Henry, 77 
Young, John, 272 

Zett, Catharine A. A. Lynch, 

Zett, George J., 41 



ocr 7 t9U 





v.^*' .\^^^ 













.^'% 







.< » s * • > ' 




O > 



















^'% 



0^ •1'°' ^ V^ .*' 




'>o^ 



^^' 










A f-O" " 







"^o^ 




- "^ a"* '■^'S^^„*„ cci- <i, *>?^afej- *^ A** "-'^ 



^'% 








.^'\ 







"^o' 




^oV 







'^O^ 











\ 










